Love In The Colors Pink and Red
by xXAonoNYmouSPXx
Summary: Sakura, out of pity for her friend Naruto who is trying to help her cope with her heartache, got her an account on a dating website where she met and made friends with a guy named Gaara. Things were going well until she met a rude red-head who spilled water all over her. "Oops" he said sarcastically "My bad, I'm not sorry"
1. Chapter 1

"For the last time, NO"

"Aww come on Sakura! Don't be such a sour-puss! I'm doing this for your own good!"

"There is absolutely _**nothing**_ _good_ about this"

"You'll be thanking me in the future, believe it!"

"The only future you're gonna get is getting confined in the hospital for ten years once I beat the crap out of you!"

"Whoop! Too late! I just made your account!"

"NARUTO!"

"Aaaand signing innnn… voila! One dating account for our dear Sakura Haruno!"

Sakura groaned. She can't believe it. She absolutely cannot believe it! How could Naruto do this to her?! She will never lend her email to him from now on! I mean, how could he just go and make an account for her on a dating website?! _**A**_ _**dating website!**_ And it's even called _LoveNinja . com_! What kind of a stupid dating site is that?!

"Give me the laptop, _**NOW**_ " she threatened, making her way to the couch he's lying on.

"Sakura, don't you dare! This is the latest Alienware 17 R3! This is currently the best gaming laptop in the century and I just got this!" the blonde sat from his chair and inched away from the raging pink while keeping both his arms secured around the orange laptop. "Do you have any idea how many times I begged my parents for this?!"

"Do I look like I care?" Sakura made a dash towards him and Naruto almost slipped between his sock and the waxed floor but managed to dodge and maintain his distance.

"Come on Sakura! I mean it! I'm not doing this to make fun of you! I'm trying to help you!" he pulled the laptop over his head just in time as Sakura reached an arm for it.

"Signing me up on a lame-named dating site is not helping me at all Naruto. You don't care about my love life so beat it!"

He rolled his blue eyes, "No duhh, I care!" They continued to dance around the couch until Naruto tried to reason with her again. "Sakura, it's been ten months since your last break up and I'm getting tired of you locking yourself in your room! You don't hang out with us that much anymore and the gang's getting worried, especially Hinata and Ino"

Sakura paused for a while at that, feeling guilt creep on her heart at the thought of her two closest friends worrying about her.

"I'm sorry…" she finally sighed her defeat, slumping down on the overstuffed couch "I didn't know that you guys would get worried"

"What are you talking about? We're your friends, of course we'll get worried" Naruto frowned before sitting beside her, placing the laptop on the coffee table.

"It's just that…" she shook her head "I appreciate what you're doing Naruto but I'm fine… I'll get over it soon" she forced a smile.

The blonde didn't buy it though "Don't give me that Sakura" he placed his hand over hers, locking gazes at her "That guy was a big douchebag and it's his loss for-" _cheating on you_ "-breaking up with you. Sakura, you're smart, pretty, funny, strong, and even scary. You deserve someone better than that jerk and I want to help you"

She smiled at the blonde. Well, he may be a stupid, reckless, loudmouth but he's always been with her through thick and thin. They've been friends since they were really small and they've always been together. They've been teased and accused for a few times for being a couple- and Naruto did like her when they were kids but it seemed that's what they're only meant to be, as childhood best friends- maybe even as close as siblings. Besides, Naruto's already happy with his girlfriend, Hinata.

Before she could complain further, however, he continued "Look" he brought the laptop closer "It's easy. All you gotta do is fill in your profile especially your likes and dislikes and then we'll just leave it to the computer to find a suitable match for ya. It's easy!" he beamed.

Sakura sighed "Fine. But I really don't think this is going to work"

"Trust me Sakura, we'll find you another date in no time! Believe it!"

"Yeah, yeah"

"Okay, let's start doing this! First off, your age," Naruto took the liberty of filling out her profile. Knowing that he won't be handing over his precious laptop to her soon, she proceeded to their apartment's kitchen to make hot chocolate- 'cause unlike most people, they don't really like the bitter taste of coffee.

"Aaanndd you're a college student studying medicine… by the way, Sakura!" he called "What should I type for your hair color? Should I say brunette or… you know, pink?"

Ughh, her hair's always been an issue. Because of her bubblegum colored hair, teachers would scold her for dying her hair and she'd been likely the favorite of all the bullies she came across and it didn't help since she was a crybaby back then. Not only that but they'd tease her for her big forehead too. Naruto's there to protect her but they'd make fun of him too because of those weird whiskers on his cheeks. All those teasing and name calling just stopped when Sakura learned how to stand up for herself and mastered Taijutsu at an early age. However, eve now most people wouldn't believe that her pink hair is natural no matter how many times she tells them.

"Pink" she decided, taking her place on the couch and place their drinks on the coffee table. After all, if she's serious about finding a guy then she wouldn't want to lie… except maybe on this part.

"Alright then. Next is breast size- which! Isn't a question 'cause you're a flat out A-"Sakura hit him hard with a throw pillow on his face before he could even finish his sentence. She managed to type in her desired profile before Naruto could recover. "What was that for?!" he pouted before looking at the screen "C-cup… really?" he raised a very doubtful brow at her, switching his eyes from her chest and back to the description on the screen. Sakura glared at him and it scared him enough for the blonde to yield "Alright! Alright!"

Moving on, Sakura continued to watch Naruto and so far, he's putting in the right information about her.

"Next is your likes. Ooh! I know! You like… sugar, spice, and everything nice" he said while typing the words.

Sakura rolled her eyes on the reference "I'm not a Powerpuff Girl and it says that you should be specific"

He huffed, hitting the backspace "Fine. Let's see… oh wait! Let's fill out your hobbies first. That one's easier. Okay, your hobbies are taijutsu, baking, reading, working out- should I include cooking?"

Sakura tapped her chin at that. Granted, she can bake but it's very different from cooking and she only knows a few dishes "Alright, you can put it in"

"Aaand that's about it. should I include anything else?"

"Nahh, go on"

"Okay, for your likes and dislikes, you like sweet things like pastries- especially vanilla and chocolate!" they fist-bumped at that "You also like books, novels," Sakura gotta commend Naruto for knowing that much about her "and you like the color red. But you don't like cockroaches, annoying people, bullies, killjoys... uhh…" Naruto mumbled, running out of things to include.

Sakura smiled at her friend "I'll fill it up Naruto, here, your drink's getting cold" she offered and Naruto beamed.

As Sakura typed in more additional info about herself, Naruto drank down his chocolate drink, relishing the marshmallows. By the time he's finished, Sakura was also done.

"There, is there anything left?"

"Hmm… well, there's your profile picture but it's optional"

Sakura decided to not include a photo of her and Naruto clicked the _**Next**_ button. A message popped up, asking what gender is she looking for and she rolled her eyes before clicking the _**Male**_ button. Another message popped up, thanking her and welcoming her to the site.

"Great! Now that your account's done, all we gotta do is find a match for ya" Naruto clicked the _**Search Lover**_ button and it showed a small, animated character wearing an orange jumpsuit and blonde hair running in a weird way with its arms over his back under the loading screen.

"Okay, so what now?"

"We wait!"

Almost half an hour has passed since they started waiting and by now the loading is at 90% but the match results remained zero. Right now they're watching TV out of boredom. Naruto was worried though. It doesn't usually take the search this long, so this could only mean one out of three things…

One, there are too many people on this site.

Two, their internet is slow.

And three, the site couldn't find any suitable match for her.

Naruto gulped, it can't be the second one because if it is, Naruto would be dead playing games because of the lag. He prayed that it's the first one because he most certainly wouldn't want to disappoint Sakura now that he's finally convinced her to move on.

It's already 98% and there are still no match results.

Sakura sighed and smiled meekly at Naruto "Thanks for the effort Naruto but I told you this wouldn't work"

"I'm sorry…" he sighed dejectedly, hanging his head low.

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek before taking their mugs to wash them on the sink when suddenly-

Ting! Ting! Ting!

The tintinnabulation echoed in their ears as they stared at the screen in disbelief.

 _ **!You found (1) love match!**_

 _ **!Ninja-tastic!**_

The blonde animation was doing a dance but neither paid any attention to it.

"Wow… that's… uhh… should we check it out?" Naruto asked and she nodded.

Naruto clicked on the result and found only one profile with the name Gaara- it doesn't include a picture.

"Gaara? That's a weird name" he commented before opening the said profile. "Whoa! This guy must have some issues!"

No kidding, most of his profile is filled with so many of his Dislikes.

"He probably took three days- no, a week! To write all this stuff down" he mused, scrolling across the page. "Let's see, it says here that he likes… Taijutsu too! Well that's a match! He also likes reading, writing, sweet food and he likes… sand and raccoons? Well, he must be something… wanna try it out?" he turned to the pink-haired who remained speechless. Honestly, she's still baffled at how many things he put on his dislike list. How are they supposed to even get along with that?!

"I dunno…" she hesitated, to which Naruto frowned.

"I'm not gonna force ya. We could try again, maybe on a different site"

Still, seeing as how far Naruto took the trouble for this, even though the risks are that this Gaara person could be a big, fat, pervert in real life… she could give it a shot for him.

"Alright, but I'll take the lead from now on" she said and Naruto was more than happy to agree as he placed the laptop on her lap.

Seeing that the user is also online... she took a deep breath before clicking the _**Send Message**_ button and type in.

 _ **Hi**_

She clicked _**Send**_ and both friends waited for the reply.

For what seemed like hours- which is an exaggeration for ten minutes, she finally received a pop up message from the guy. She opened it and they both read his response.

 _ **Hello**_

* * *

 **This is just a test run! I'd like to hear what you guys think first and if I should continue or not! Thanks for reading! Read and review!**

 **Ciao~!**


	2. Chapter 2

' **I've read your profile. I hope we could chat soon' ~Sakura**

' **I've just read yours too. How long have you been doing taijutsu?' ~Gaara**

' **Since I was little? I think around the time when I was seven or eight? What about you?' ~Sakura**

' **Same. Which gym do you go to?' ~Gaara**

' **You also live by the border between Suna and Konoha, right? You know the one near the park? A few roads up from the beach?' ~Sakura**

' **If you mean the gym owned by the guy with the bowl cut with his son that looks like him, then yes. I happen to go to the same gym as well' ~Gaara**

' **Wow, seriously? Oh and correction, the kid- Lee, is not his son. Though it's a pretty common misunderstanding, he just idolizes him- a little too much I think' ~Sakura**

' **My bad. It's near the place where I work and compared to other gyms, they have complete facilities, the equipment are kept clean, and they promote hygiene' ~Gaara**

' **I agree. At least I don't have to suffer inhaling all that perspiration and rust. So... sweets?' ~Sakura**

' **Contrary to what I may seem, I have quite a pecking sweet tooth' ~Gaara**

' **I bake. What's your favorite flavor?' ~Sakura**

' **So I've read. What is your favored palate?' ~Gaara**

' **Hey, I asked first!' ~Sakura**

' … ' **~Gaara**

' … ' **~Sakura**

' **Milk Chocolate' ~Sakura & Gaara**

Sakura and Gaara had been exchanging mails non-stop ever since they started talking, only to pause for a while when they had to go do some necessities, especially breakfast, lunch, and dinner- thanks to Naruto's whining.

Speaking of which, as much as that tinkling sound and constant clicking of fingers on keys start to irritate him, Naruto gave himself a pat on the back to find his best friend-like-sister so engrossed on her laptop (he managed to make her stop for a while and open her account on her own laptop instead when he found that she's not going to stop anytime soon. Besides, he has a scheduled game against Kiba and the guys on Rocket League). The blonde would find himself smiling and feeling happy himself whenever he'd hear Sakura make a small laugh or even a giggle every now and then. From the looks of it, if this Gaara person could manage to make her smile and laugh from behind the screen (what more if they actually meet in real life?) and as long as he keeps it up then maybe Naruto would find himself being pestered by Sakura on which dress suits her better for her upcoming date!

Again, he pat himself on the back with a wide grin and he could feel his heart swell with pride and happiness for her- only to suddenly shout curses when Kiba's car stole the ball from him, earning their team a score- making Naruto's team lose the second half of the game.

* * *

 **~ One Week Later ~**

* * *

' _Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shooootttt!'_

 _9:04 a.m._

It's nine- _fricking_ -o-four a.m.!

Of all the times she had to sleep in it had to be today!

If she's not too careful then she would literally break her teeth at how hard she's grinding them out of sheer frustration. Thank the gods for her speed and quick-time reflexes or else she'd be crashing with every person on the bustling morning street. She wasted no time as she threw herself in the closed café.

" _ **You're late**_ "

Those two words sent a chill up her spine. If she wasn't trying to catch her breath then she would've seen the fierce glower that adorned a redhead's face that could've easily made the demons from down below wet their pants. Though for all the five years she'd known him, she didn't have to look to know.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I slept in and I forgot to set my alarm and Tsunade had me busy last night and-!"

"I don't want to hear your excuses"

With her head still down, she could hear him standing from his seat, bracing herself for the worse but instead, she heard the juggling of keys.

"Here" Catching the said keys, she finally managed to look at the redhead who had his bag slung over his shoulder by now. "I left a little something for you in the kitchen as a reward for your tardiness" Sakura flinched at that because boy oh boy, it can't be good. "I'll be back in three days. I expect everything to be in one piece when I return."

Flabbergasted at the realization that _that_ was all he's going to say, she blinked at him in confusion "Yeah… but Sasori-"

"I already gave Itachi a copy of the keys"

"But-"

"You don't have to wait for him after you lock up"

"Saso-"

"Oh and I trust that you'll check up on my grandmother every now and then?"

"Sasori!" He stopped and eyed her, his face remained passive and unflinching. "I… I just… I'm really sorry…"

Of course she's very sorry. She was extremely late, she broke her promise that she'd help him before he leaves and not only did she made him wait for two hours, she made him miss the train that was scheduled to leave for his seminar. Why did he wait for her anyway?!

But pushing that question aside, Sakura hung her head low. She let him down.

It felt like an eternity before he spoke again.

"Doesn't matter. You came anyway"

Sakura didn't even realize she was holding her breath when he finally snapped the silence. Then as they walked by the door, he placed a hand on her head to ruffle it gently (though the gesture makes her look like a pet cat, she just couldn't help but feel mellow at the feeling of someone doing that. There's just something so peaceful and relaxing at the gesture). "I'll be off then, Sakura"

She nodded, snapping from her trance "Take care, Sasori"

True enough, the moment she stepped inside the kitchen, she screamed.

It'll take a whole day for her to fix all this stuff!

Fortunately, there wasn't that many customers when she opened the café- which gave her time to clean up and organize the ' _gift'_ Sasori left for her (a.k.a. organizing the mountains of newly delivered of high quality ingredients). Sakura knew she has no right to complain about this headache. She _did_ promise to come and help him before he goes to attend his seminar located at the heart of Konoha city- which, is more likely a two or three hour ride.

Then again, he could've given her a more gruesome punishment. Serves her right for making the most impatient man to have ever existed wait… wait for _**two hours**_ to be exact.

"Hey Sakura! I'd like some ramen please!" came in a bellowing cry followed by a group of ' _hi's_ ' and ' _hellos'_ from her peers.

She sighed, neatly placing the cinnamon bun and coffee on a customer's table "Naruto don't be so loud and how many times do I have to tell you that this is a _café_ , we don't sell ramen here"

"Then you should finally put it up on your menu! Ramen's the best in the world!"

She rolled her eyes as she went to her friends to take their orders. When she came back to them she immediately went back to the counter to place back the refilled jars of ingredients.

"Looks like Sasori's got ya busy, eh Sakura?" Kiba commented while he scratched Akamaru's ear. At least this café allows pets with the rule that the owners will hold responsibility if anything happens (Much to Sasori's delight in milking those pet owners out of their money unless they wanted a lawsuit).

"You guys have no idea" she sighed exasperatedly "But I can't blame him. I basically committed a cardinal sin against him this morning"

"And by cardinal sin you mean?"

"I was late"

"For how long?"

She paused for a while "Two hours…"

She heard a collective gasp among her peers.

"Oh no you didn't!"

"It's a miracle you're still alive!"

"H-h-he d-didn't h-hurt you, d-did he, Sakura?"

"It's okay Hinata" the pinkette smiled at the timid girl (Who's like a sister to her by proxy of Naruto. She's very sweet and both Sakura and Naruto greatly appreciate her understanding when she found out that they live in the same apartment- but not before fainting of course). They all know very well what Sasori's capable of and though there hasn't been a case because of tardiness, no one wants to know either way. "He didn't do anything besides giving me all this workload. I suppose I deserve it though. I promised him that I'd help him out before he leaves but in the end I woke up _extremely_ late. I didn't even got to go to the gym this morning"

Ino spoke up "You know, it's a Friday and we're not doing anything so…"

Taking the hint, she smiled at her friends' mutual glances "It's alright guys. You don't have to. You know Sasori doesn't trust anyone else besides me and Itachi with this place"

"He doesn't have to know. How long are you gonna manage this place anyway?" Ino looked around the quaint but humble café.

Honestly, it's not like Sasori has a fascination for tea and bread. In all truth, he's quite a renowned sculptor- especially in Suna (Sakura learned that there's just a few issues that kept him a little restricted from that city). He's a master sculptor- specifically with wood, has a gallery of his own and has made contributions in almost every gallery in the world (not to mention a few street art). Oh and did I mention that he's achieved all these at the young age of 25? He just so happens to open this small café-slash-bar (for late night drinks [at night- which will be Itachi's problem]) because he finds the smell of brewed coffee and freshly baked bread to be relaxing and sometimes inspires him for his next masterpiece.

How Sakura met him will be left for another story.

"Three days and _puh_ -lease I swear that guy's a wizard or something. He's got eyes and ears _everywhere_! Besides, it's not like I haven't managed this place alone before. Thanks for the offer though"

Besides, it's not like she could rely on Naruto waking her up. He was even still asleep when she woke up this morning!

"Still, _you_ waking up _late_? That's got to be the first on your record considering you have something important to do the next day. I've seen you pull those all-nighters for three days but you still manage to beat Tsunade in her own office every morning. What broke the record?"

Sakura paused for a while, finally stacking the last jar of spice on the shelf.

"I… I just had a nice sleep"

"Oh reeeeally?" Oh no, Naruto grinned, this can't be good "Wasn't it because you were up all night talking to a little someone called _Gaa~ra_ ~?"

Ino gasped loudly, which sent a chill down Sakura's spine

"That's a boy's name!" Ino pointed "Spill it Naruto! Spill!"

"It's nobody, okay?" she tried to defend but it looks like nobody heard. Heck, even the stoical guys (Shino, Neji, and Sai) looked like they're interested.

"Heehee" Naruto's grin grew wider "I got Sakura to sign up on a dating website and this guy Gaara was her match!"

"And you didn't tell me this, _**why?!**_ " Ino glared at Sakura accusingly

"Because it doesn't need to be mentioned!" again, Sakura's words fell on deaf ears.

"Oh yeah, you guys have no idea! Ever since those two started talking, Sakura couldn't let go of her laptop! I swear you could hear her getting a message every second- it was driving me insane!"

"Sakura! I thought you were my friend! How could you go and get a boyfriend without telling me!"

"Ino, you're exaggerating! He's not my boyfriend! And I just met him a week ago!"

Now that she thought about it, despite the short span of one week, Sakura just realized that she has been talking a lot with Gaara. Time sure flies when you're having fun and despite the way Gaara's messages were sometimes short, blunt, and straight to the point- not the mention he doesn't use emojis and that his preferred words were ones that you only read in a novel- he's pretty fun to talk to. He doesn't beat around the bush, he's very honest with his answers, and Sakura even finds some of his blunt answers to be funny- nothing like she expected from talking with someone from the net.

True enough, Sakura can talk with Gaara about anything under the sun. From her honest opinion, Gaara's quite knowledgeable about many things and she finds it entertaining to listen (read) about his opinions on things. Besides, they totally hit it off once the topic moves to either taijustsu or sweets. Sometimes they'd even debate which flavor taste better and they'd even exchange desserts they knew of.

Sakura never realized how good French fries are when dipped with vanilla ice cream until Gaara told her.

Their conversations have also gone a little personal. Sakura learned that Gaara lives alone and his two siblings would often visit him whenever they can and he mentioned that it's because his mother died when she gave birth to him (she didn't question any further since she noticed that the way he wrote that message was more like a slip of the fingers). She also learned that Gaara didn't go to college and was only able to finish until junior high because of his ' _reputation'_ (again, she didn't question him any further than that).

Then again, Sakura never really cared if a person is gay, lesbian, has a different religion, came from a different race, etc. because as long as they're nice, friendly, and knows how to respect others then she wouldn't even question where they come from.

Lastly, she learned that he works at Vermillion Beach Resort- the beach that just got featured in one of the best shows and has been given a five star review from critics. Apparently, they didn't hold back when they said that the beach had the most beautiful sunrise and sunset over the ocean compared to anywhere in the world. Gaara, it would seem, works as a sand artist there- which got Sakura extremely interested because it makes all the things he typed on his _**Dislikes**_ contradictory.

Besides that, she's pretty confident and clearly made room for him in her friend list.

And yes, that's just in the short span of one week. Oh and they have exchanged numbers by now since they found the inconvenience of using the site to keep talking to each other a mutual hassle. Besides, it's easier to send texts to and fro each other.

Lastly, not once did the both of them question about each other's appearances.

"That's it! No dinner for you Naruto!"

"Ehhh?! Why?! Hinata! Sakura's being mean to me!"

"Y-You should a-apologize Naruto. Y-y-you shouldn't h-have t-t-teased her too much"

* * *

' **You seem to be a bit out of sorts' ~Gaara**

' **Really? What gave it away?' ~Sakura**

' **Well, considering that you greeted me with a 'Hi' instead of 'Hey' like you usually do, it got me thinking that it's either it was just a trivial change of greeting or there's something up. Either way, obviously I placed my money on the latter' ~Gaara**

' **How observant of you and guess what? You just won that bet! Congratulations' ~Sakura**

' **I am leaping in joy' ~Gaara**

Sakura smiled at that sarcastic comment.

' **What could be troubling you?' ~ Gaara**

' **Well, let's just say I let a friend down. He's going away on a trip for a few days and I promised him that I'd watch over his place. Unfortunately I slept in and got him to wait for two hours! Not to mention that I made him miss his ride' ~Sakura**

' **Why do I get the feeling that I should be blamed on that? We** _ **did**_ **talk for quite a few hours after midnight' ~Gaara**

' **What? No! No, I don't blame you at all! It's my fault that I didn't even set my alarm' ~Sakura**

' **But wasn't your friend angered by it? Is it not frightening to disappoint a friend?' ~Gaara**

' **Of course he was mad. He didn't show it but I know he was! And that's what's scarier!. God, I'm so** _ **screwed**_ **when he gets back. He is going to kill me!' ~Sakura**

' **I see.**

 **How unfortunate. Shall I prepare your coffin for you? I would be honored to be a witness when you sign your last will and testament' ~Gaara**

' **Ha ha ha. Very funny Gaara. That was pure comedy gold' ~Sakura**

' **I try' ~Gaara**

' **So how was your day?' ~ Sakura**

' **Nothing extraordinary to report except that I went to that bakery that you mentioned' ~Gaara**

' **You went to** _ **Sweetstop**_ **? Please don't tell me you met Jiraiya' ~Sakura**

' **If you're referring to the old pervert that wore a pink apron behind the counter, then unfortunately yes, I have met him' ~Gaara**

' **Oh boy…' ~Sakura**

' **It would seem that he was a bit… distracted when I was trying to order. He kept telling me to move aside' ~Gaara**

Oh how Sakura couldn't wait to smack that old pervert's face. From what Gaara's saying, Jiraiya's ' _distraction'_ would've been very well came from a source of his target customers- who owned a rather… _curvy_ form. As much as she commends him for setting up an innocent shop, it all goes downhill once you find out who his true motive.

' _Apparently, women love sweets!_ ' that was what he used in defense while sporting that chilling grin on his face. She just prays that Naruto wouldn't become like him since he's been hanging out with the old geezer.

Can you believe that he graduated at the top of the class tying with her teacher, Tsunade and their other friend- Orochimaru?

' **Then again, I now understand why you recommended such a shop despite the owner's… odd fixations. The ones I have ordered were exquisite' ~Gaara**

' **I'm glad. Which ones did you buy?' ~Sakura**

' **I have tried a lot but I can only buy so much. Among the ones I have bought, the B &W was the best thus far' ~Gaara**

' **Really?! I'm very happy that you liked it! It was one of my original recipes!' ~Sakura**

' **Then I give my compliments. I very much like the way you blended the vanilla and the chocolate. The flavors weren't opposing with each other and the whipped cream on top was a beautiful touch. I do have quite the fascination with it' ~Gaara**

' **So do I, Gaara. So do I.**

 **Thank you. I'm very glad that you liked it' ~Sakura**

And that was just one of their many conversations that lasted a little later after midnight. Apparently, they are even mutual with their siblings. Especially agreeing to how annoying they can be yet appreciate them for being there.

At around midnight, Sakura finally willed herself to stop and wish Gaara a goodnight- or more likely, a good morning- after finally feeling the kick of sleep but she was determined to rise early to catch up on her daily workout. Thank the gods that it was only Saturday tomorrow.

Besides, she feels rusty since she hasn't done a single exercise for two weeks (and no, not including that Gaara's – well, alright, admittedly – he's been quite the distraction for her) what with all those paper works Tsunade charged her with (papers that were her teacher's responsibility to begin with) not to mention that she still has that thesis to worry about since summer's right around the corner. Maybe she could get Naruto as a _volunteer_ for her to dissect his brain?

Nah…

…

..

.

Maybe?

But deep in the girl's subconscious, was that really the only reason she's determined to work out tomorrow? Granted she needs to get back on her routine, but is that the only reason?

Wasn't it because of the fact that Gaara goes to the same gym she goes?

Sakura's eyes jerked open at that. Seriously, why would that fact bother her? In fact, why would that even cross her mind?! She should be deciding how many laps she's going to do or how much weight she's going to lift or if she ever met him before and did not realize it or wonder what he'd look like or-

"GODDAMMIT!" she threw her head back and placed another pillow over her face before screaming her lungs out.

Granted, they've talked about their workout routine and have exchanged words regarding taijutsu but aside from that, she doesn't know anything else. She doesn't know his exact schedule or the time or day he goes to that gym and she didn't bother to ask because that would seem like invading his space. Besides, he hasn't asked for hers anyway.

' _Sakura, what is the matter with you?! What are you thinking?!_ ' she yelled at herself ' _You've only met the guy for what? One week? That's right! You've only known him for_ _ **one week**_ _! He could still be that big, old, fat, pervert that you pictured before! Don't fall for the way he talks no matter how admirable or cute you find his rich vocabulary; or the way he can make you laugh without even trying; or the way he almost knows what you're exactly feeling or thinking; or the fact that you have so much in common; or…_

 _.._

 _.'_

Again, she screamed in her pillow.

Honestly, she feels like a poorly developed character of one of the mangas Naruto reads or something because how could she possibly think of all of these from the get-go? They've been doing nothing but talking and no matter how comfortable they are with each other over the screen, things could be _totally_ different when they actually meet in real life.

Finally lifting her head from the pillow, she closed her eyes and took long, even breaths.

"Okay, calm down Sakura" she told herself "There's a logical reason behind all this… I know! It's because I'm curious!"

 _Curious?_

"Yes! That's it! I'm curious of him and that's the answer to my questions!" she smiled at nothing particular "I'm just curious on whom I've been talking to and that's that! There are no other hidden agenda or any other meaning. This is just a mild case of curiosity!"

Oh boy

Finally pushing those thoughts aside, she finally managed to fall into slumber. Oh how she would've known that it's going to bite her in the butt tomorrow.

* * *

Sakura Haruno gulped at the entrance of Guy's gym. She left early this morning to start her routine with a jog to the gym. Good thing that it opens early for others who also believe that exercising in the morning is the best. When she reached there, there were already people inside.

 _No doubt the daily customers._

She should be heading inside now. What's she so afraid of? It's not like she's never been here before. The clerk by the counter knew her the moment she signed up for a membership when she and Naruto moved to the apartment at the border for college.

Realizing how weird she must've looked for staying in front of the gym's glass doors, with a gulp, she went inside- clutching her red Nike drawstring bag over her shoulder. Once she signed up, she went over the equipment while secretly observing the other males present.

Could one of these people be Gaara?

If she would to ask herself, she pictured Gaara to be quite a tall person (maybe around 170 cm? since his height was left blank on his profile). She also doesn't imagine him to be the buff type of person with those bulging, protruding muscle men on steroids. He just doesn't seem like it. Though she has no right to judge, she still prays that he's not in that category.

She saw only a few candidates though. There were three brunettes who aren't as buff as the others. Sakura's exchanged a few words between the first two brunettes though and she quickly dismisses them from the likely candidates since they don't exactly fit Gaara's way of talking. They're nice though- but a little too nice to be Gaara.

So could the last one be Gaara? She's seen him a few times before but they never exchanged words. He's very tall compared to her and those striking blue eyes were quite dazzling- they were much bluer than Naruto's. But then again, why's he working on that dummy? It looks like he's more into kickboxing but didn't Gaara mention once that he's trying other fighting styles too?

For the remainder of her workout, Sakura fixed her eyes on that brunette while she went about and tried all the equipment. By now she's catching her breath by a barely hanging punching bag.

' _Damn, I really am a bit rusty_ ' she cursed and was clearly disappointed at herself on how low her skills have sunk after two weeks of no taijutsu. Even if people found her early skills just now impressive, it was completely degrading on her part. Before she could completely pulverize three to five heavy punching bags (depending on her mood); thank god that the owner, Guy, knew Sakura's father so there was no need to file a lawsuit. Now she could barely break the fabric in one punch!

Deciding to take a little break, she went over to drop her bag on the nearby chair along with a few bags before going by the cooler to get a drink. She waited in line behind a redhead while she dried her face, arms, and open stomach off of her sweat.

By the corner of her eye, she could see her target finishing up and looked like he was about to leave. Panicked, she wanted to follow the stranger- god she felt like some kind of stalker- but her dry throat seemed to scream in protest.

She eyed the person before her as she seemed to grow more irate by the passing second (she didn't even notice that he's one of those who aren't buff like the other men here). The redhead seemed to be taking his time by the cooler. Sakura crossed her arms and tap her foot loud enough for him to know that there's someone waiting behind him but he doesn't seem to budge at all.

When she heard him give the cooler a light kick, she finally snapped.

"What the hell! Are you _dumb_ or you just don't know how to use a fricking cooler?!"

If she wasn't so furious, she would've heard the collective gasps she earned as her outburst seemed to finally catch the redhead's attention- who slowly turned to finally face her with a mutual irate expression.

Jade eyes met forest green.

* * *

 **I'll be writing the continuation immediately so please let me know what you all think! Reviews and Criticisms are highly appreciated! No Flames!**

 **Thank you all so much for being interest in this story!**

 **I'm sorry about my English. It's not exactly my first language so bear with me!**

 **I do hope you'll all enjoy this extra long chapter and that you'd all tune in for the next chapters!**

 **Ciao~!**


	3. Chapter 3

' **You work at Sasori Akasuna's café?' ~Gaara**

' **Yeah, you been there?' ~Sakura**

' **A few times. He's my cousin' ~Gaara**

' **WHAT?! Really?!' ~Sakura**

' **Yes. He's the eldest between us cousins. I'm surprised he let you work there. He's not a sociable person, meaning he's not really patient with people working with him. No offense' ~Gaara**

' **None taken. And yeah, you're right about those. Let's just say I owe him something big and so I have to work for him for free to repay it. Unless he's in a good mood or if I did something worthwhile, then he gives a couple of hundreds as reward' ~Sakura**

' **I see' ~Gaara**

' **I just… well, wow. I never thought you'd know Sasori, let alone be his cousin' ~Sakura**

' **I guess it's a small world after all' ~Gaara**

' **Yeah, I guess you're right' ~Sakura**

* * *

 _Chiseled pecs,_

 _Toned biceps,_

 _Delicious six packs,_

 _Pale green eyes,_

 _Blood red hair,_

 _A tattoo with the kanji for 'love',_

 _Kissable lips…_

 _ **He**_

 _ **Is**_

 _ **PERFECT**_ _ **!**_

 _She fainted…_

Well, she would've if she wasn't so angry. Two sets of emerald orbs glared at each other to submission but neither were willing to surrender. Sakura had her hands over hips, letting her eyes throw more daggers- courtesy of being around Sasori and his gang for the last few years, at the person just a few centimeters taller than her. He was holding a cup full of water with one hand- which was threatening to break if he doesn't control himself.

His scowl deepened and a feral growl rumbled in his throat and she responded by further narrowing her eyes. Without removing his glower than can surely make a grown man cry, he stepped aside and Sakura was much too obliged to move forward. However, her expression became aghast.

"The cooler's broken"

God, _**if only**_ she wasn't so pissed off she would've melted then and there because of the redhead's husky, sexy voice.

And of course, she was more offended because she caught that tone he used.

She tried to work on the cooler again but nothing happened. "If you didn't kick it, it wouldn't have broken" she spoke through gritted teeth, turning to him to engage them in another round of glaring.

The redhead sneered "It was already broken when I used it"

The pinkette rolled her eyes "Oh sure, and I suppose the water on your cup just came out of nowhere" she spat, completely snapping the redhead's negligible patience "I'm going to thirst because of you"

"You're thirsty?" he drawled "Then here you go"

The spectators around them gave their own sounds of shock.

Instead of a retort, Sakura gasped when the redhead turned the cup over her head, deliberately drenching her hair and mixing the cool liquid with her sweat. It's as if she turned to stone, her mouth was open in shock and her eyes were wide as saucers. She was too stunned to move even when she felt the last drop of water and the cup landing on her hair.

"Oops" he said sarcastically "My bad, I'm not sorry"

"Uhh…."

Despite her frozen state, she managed to see another person with rusty brown hair. He looked like he's a few years older than her and he appears to be trying to pacify the rude redhead. However, he just gave him a glare and the guy cowered.

Giving her one last sneer, the redhead proceeded to move away and entered the boy's locker room. as for her, it felt like hours before she moved her head, letting the cup fall on the waxed floor. Her gaze roamed around and saw the other people just staring at her, still in shock.

Why didn't they try to help her?!

Angrier at herself for letting some bastard embarrass her in public, she snapped.

"Well what the hell are you all looking at?!"

They cringed and returned to whatever they were doing. The thought of staying one more second in this place disgusted her- no offense to Sir Gai and Lee, she wasted no time to snatch her jacket, zip it up to her neck and grab her red bag before wasting no time to exit the building.

Yes, she ran all the way back to her and Naruto's apartment.

Then again did she even realize that there was another red Nike drawstring bag by that chair?

* * *

The loud slam of the door echoed throughout their apartment, making the frames rattle a bit.

"WHO- WHAT- WHEN- WHERE- HOW-?!" Naruto panicked, obviously jerked from his sleep on the couch (he probably slept while watching a marathon of Supernatural. He was still asleep when she left the house). His eyes calmed down a bit but he cringed at the sight of his _very_ pissed off best friend.

"Uhh…" he drawled, not knowing what to say "Did something happened?" Naruto said with extreme precaution.

"That was just- oooohhh! He's just so- ughhh! How dare he-! That bastard-! I'm definitely gonna- UGHHH!" Sakura groaned and grumbled, making her friend confused before stomping her way to her room to take a quick shower.

Of all the years Naruto spent with Sakura, he has two options…

Run and Hide

Or

Stay and Face her Wrath

Or

Stay and Try to Comfort Her

'Hmm…' Naruto thought. Option A is very, very, very tempting. He wouldn't want to risk his life with option B; but he can't let his best friend- like sister go through something on her own. They swore to help and be each other's shoulders to lean on after all so… he went to his room to change into a more decent pair of clothes.

When Sakura came back to the living room, she still has her glare on but at least it wasn't that intense a few minutes ago. She looked up on Naruto's face and years of spent with Naruto taught her that he his smiles have different kinds of meanings and the smile he gave is the one saying 'You're obviously not in a good mood so I'll smile for you until we finally sort out your problem'.

Once the pinkette realized that, she gave him a soft, appreciative smile. Naruto's smile widened before juggling his car keys between their faces.

"Come on Sakura, I'll drive you to the café"

* * *

' **Do not be offended. It's not that I do not wish to meet you. In all honesty, I really enjoy talking to you' ~Gaara**

' **And I enjoy talking to you too… I'm sorry, it's because I'm being too rash about this, right? I mean, we've only started talking for almost a week. I'm sorry if you got appalled by the idea…" ~Sakura**

" **No! Please do not misunderstand… Sakura, I DO want to meet you. You are… very comfortable to talk to. You're humorous and I don't get bored talking to you' ~Gaara**

' **Then what's holding you back?' ~Sakura**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

' **You might become disappointed' ~Gaara**

' **Disappointed? Why would I be disappointed?' ~Sakura**

' **I'm not exactly the same outside the screen' ~Gaara**

' **What do you mean?' ~Sakura**

' **I am nothing like when we talk. I talk less, I am almost as impatient as Sasori, I don't compliment people, I am not sociable, I am easily irritated and can be a bit violent…' ~Gaara**

' **You're Gaara, right?' ~Sakura**

' **What kind of a question is that? Of course I am' ~Gaara**

' **You're Gaara in real life, right?' ~Sakura**

' **I do not see where this is going but yes' ~Gaara**

' **Then it doesn't matter. Whether you talk more or less doesn't matter and I couldn't care less how violent you are. You should know by now that I'm like an ogre from all the stories I tell you about my childhood with Naruto' ~Sakura**

' **Naruto is somewhat similar to my siblings. It was relatable' ~Gaara**

' **Still, you're the same friend that I made through the net so it really doesn't matter… Hey, sorry if I opened up that topic. Obviously you're not comfortable with it so I won't talk about it anymore.**

 **.**

 **.**

' **Hey Gaara, you trust me, right?' ~Sakura**

' **Yes. Yes I do' ~Gaara**

* * *

If you told him that after two months of making an account in _LoveNinja .com_ (courtesy of his sibling's pestering in his love life) that he will get a match and that he would become instantly drawn to her in less than a week, Gaara would've kicked your arse and tell you that you're crazy over and over again.

So then, how come he finds himself instantly turning to his laptop whenever he heard that sound that tells him he received a new message?

How did this happen anyway?

Well, it all started on any normal day. He just got back from his daily workout in Gai's Springtime of Youth Fitness Center and was carrying a box full of assorted colored sands and glitters when he found himself face to face with his siblings leisurely sprawled around his apartment's living room. Kankuro was playing on his PS Vita about some game called _**One Piece**_ while his sister- Temari, read the latest _**Kuno-Ichi Weekly**_ magazine.

Apparently, they just came back from Iwa and went straight to their little brother's bachelor pad to see him. Though Gaara groaned and looked annoyed, he was truly grateful and really appreciated his siblings.

Growing up in such an environment made him mature faster and thank the gods that he understood that his mother's death was just an unfortunate event and certainly not something he should be blamed for. Heck, he could've even died along with his mother because of his premature birth. Unfortunately, his father just can't get it through his thick skull that none of it was his fault. So when Gaara was finally fed up with his father calling him the murderer of his wife, he was more than happy to move out. However, since Gaara was only thirteen around that time, the law prohibits him to be on his own despite his father's influence in politics. Fortunately, he found refuge under the wing of his relatives.

Young, thirteen year old Gaara was left in the care of Akasuna Chiyo, along with his older cousin, Akasuna Sasori. Which he learned, as suspicious as it sounds, moved out in the outskirts between Konoha and Suna at the same day he was born. He stayed with them for five years and though granny Chiyo seemed to be always busy working in the hospital and seemed to leave him and Sasori to their own demise, she cared… in her own way. After all, she was the first to scold and treat his wounds after a skirmish in school without him lashing out like he normally would.

The same goes for Sasori. Though the two have their own worlds, they grew to respect each other's privacy. He talks as less as Gaara but he seemed to care for his cousin in his own way too. He keeps him out of trouble. Gaara only ever saw him lose control once and that was when he was fifteen- his cousin came home one day cursing in every language he knows. He could only make out some of it but he thinks it's about some stupid girl breaking Hiruko- his best sculpture.

It was through Sasori that Gaara discovered his hidden talent. He was playing with Sasori's leftover sand- out of boredom, for the sculpture he was making and shaped it into a raccoon. Apparently, Sasori walked in on him just in time when he finished and soon after, Sasori gave him a few empty bottles, a weirdly shaped funnel, and a few bags of colored sand without instruction. Gaara didn't regard it at first but when he got bored one day, he just went and made his first sand bottle art.

One thing led to another and soon, Gaara would find himself coming to his cousin's workshop where he settled a working area for himself in a corner of the garage. It was more of a hobby but the redhead insomniac found himself making a new piece of artwork every day. Sometimes, he would even settle for making miniature sand sculptures and Sasori would throw him some pointers every now and again.

Then one day, granny Chiyo fell ill. Her body finally gave up because of old age and fatigue. Because they could only earn so much and since they don't receive a single cent from Gaara's family (except for Temari and Kankuro, who visits him as much as they can- but even _they_ can't give that much financial support), Gaara had to stop school and didn't proceed further to senior high.

Unfortunately, since Sasori was just a newly-born star in the Art Industry at that time, he can't afford to keep up with both their needs and his grandmother's hospital bills alone.

" _I have a friend who needs someone who can manipulate sand"_

He said to the fifteen year old and that's when Gaara met his cousin's expert in pyrotechnics friend, Deidara. At first, his job was only to build sand castles to promote the beach but then it became one of the reasons why tourists come over to Vermillion Beach Resort and when they tried out to sell a few of his sand bottles, the people fell in love with it.

It's only a matter of time before Gaara became the resort's number one sand artist.

Gaara moved out and found a place for himself when he reached eighteen. An apartment not too far from the beach, gym, and café Sasori opened a few years later when they finally stabilized their financial problem. Since he made it clear that he wanted to live independently once he reached legal age, Sasori respected his decision and even helped him find a place for himself. Though Gaara's a man of few words, he is eternally grateful for the two Akasunas. He would visit granny Chiyo in the hospital as much as his schedule allows him to but because Sasori's gotten more famous, he's always out on Art conventions, seminars, and exhibits- he only ever got the chance to visit him in his café a few times.

But Gaara didn't only have the Chiyo and Sasori to be grateful for, he also has his siblings. They took over to taking care of him when he moved out on his own. They'd come visit him as often as they can and would eat out to catch up on things. He's very grateful that they didn't shun him like their father, as much as it annoyed him when they would pester in his life.

In fact, now that you think about it, it was his sibling's fault that got him in this jam in the first place.

One day, they harassed and complained to him because of how much he lacked in love life. Unfortunately, he came face to face with an ultimatum. It's either he'd let his sister match him and force him to go on blind dates with women she picked herself, or make an account on a website his brother recommended.

Gaara, mortified at the thought of sitting every night on some bistro with a random woman who can't stop talking how she had her hair and nails done, sided with his brother. But of course, even though he agreed to make an account, that doesn't mean he needs to do anything more. After finishing his profile (with all honesty in his Dislikes), he mentally sighed in relief and maybe a bit hurt that the site found no match for him.

Since he'd done his end of the bargain, his siblings don't annoy him that much anymore- except for Temari, who tries every once in a while.

Two months later, after they visited their beloved little brother- who more likely kicked them out before they could change his profile to better his chances in finding a match; He just finished refilling his stock of colored sand when he heard a ringing sound from his laptop. To say he was surprised was an understatement.

 _ **!You found (1) love match!**_

 _ **!Ninja-tastic!**_

Doubtfully, he opened the notification and it directed him to a single profile with no picture named _**'Sakura H.'**_ He snorted, thinking that it was just some random glitch but decided to humor it and opened her profile. Much to his surprise, most of their hobbies and some of their likes and dislikes were similar. What caught his eye though was that she was into taijutsu. Her hobby in baking was just a bonus. He further read her profile and found that she's the same age as his, though he's only older for a few months. Excluding age, he skipped out the other information and just after he learned that she made this account just a few minutes ago, he received a pop up message.

 _ **!You have (1) love mail!**_

It was a simple message. It only contained one word: _**Hi**_ , it says.

For the first time in his life, Gaara didn't know what to do. Should he respond? There are a lot of posers and scammers in the net. How could he be so sure that this Sakura H. is not one of them? Then again, he didn't expect that he would get a match at all and his brother did say that this website is authentic… but would that be enough? This Sakura H. could be an ugly, desperate bitch who just wants to suck his money dry.

Then again, there's still a chance that this girl could be true and who knows? Maybe… just maybe… he'd finally discover his match…. Not that he was into relationships, no. because of his violent reputation, his association with Sasori (apparently, his cousin is also quite infamous in the dark streets and there's even some rumors that he's affiliated with a notorious gang underground), and the fact that he gets bored and irritated easily- it's more likely that he's unapproachable and hard to deal with.

Still, deep inside him, there's still that small tug of yearning of wanting to how it feels to have a significant other. It's one of the reasons why he carved that kanji in his forehead after all (what was once a scar left by his traitor of an uncle, Yashamaru, it was then concealed with a perfectly inked writing thanks to another of Sasori's friends. If he recalls him right, his name was Pein- the one who works part-time in a tattoo/piercing shop).

Not that he's sure that this Sakura is his significant other already. Still… it wouldn't hurt to try, right?

Convincing himself that he'll just humor her out of curiosity, he answered the message with an equal, singular word.

' **Hello'**

What he didn't expect after that, however, is that he would be talking to her non-stop all throughout the day, passing midnight and even up to the earliest hours of the morning. How would he know that she's such an interesting person? And that's saying something because this is Gaara we're talking about, he can't be kept entertained for more than ten minutes except when he's doing his sand art.

She's smart, he greatly commends her for that. She's knowledgeable enough that they can talk about anything under the sun and he'd actually pay attention to her opinions. At first they talked about their interests but when the topic suddenly turned to taijutsu or about sweets, the wall completely shattered and it was on the third day since they met that Gaara realized that his conversations- the messages he sent her became longer and longer.

Not only was she intelligent, she's also crafty, humorous, mischievous, and not one to be messed around with. Evidence being when she'd sometimes talk about her and her best friend-like-brother, Naruto. He almost feels sorry for the boy and in turn, he would talk about his own siblings. Sakura is also kind and sensitive. She knows when to stop and diverge into another topic whenever he would unconsciously type about his mother- something he's not yet really comfortable to share with and she understands. It's also as if she knows what mood he's in. like the time he was so frustrated at Deidara since one of his fireworks took a wrong turn and destroyed the sand sculpture he's been working on for a few days. She knew exactly what to say and after a few exchanges, he finds himself laughing at one of her random antics.

Things were going well on his part but then he realized that his siblings are still there. Oh sometimes he wished they didn't exist. Five days after he met Sakura, his siblings came by and dragged him out of the apartment so they could have lunch with him. maybe it was his fault for being too obvious because while they were waiting for their food and even while they were eating, Gaara couldn't let go of his cellphone.

Hey, they don't always talk through e-mails and at some point, Gaara and Sakura exchanged phone numbers. For the first few questions, he'd dismiss his siblings' questions- saying that it's just business but then Temari had to catch his smile while he read through Sakura's reply and in an instant, his phone was snatched. They only have to read her name and a few of her messages before Temari started squealing and Kankuro started some kind of dance, praising whatever god it is- thanking it that Gaara wasn't asexual.

Oh how wish he could've killed them at that moment but unfortunately, he brought further demise into his own embarrassment when they saw the streak of pink crossing his face.

After that, their visits became more frequent (since summer vacation's around the corner) but he started to dread their visits because every time they do, they always ask about Sakura and whether it was because of pride or embarrassment, he's determined to not tell them anything about Sakura.

 **~0~**

That's why he wasn't surprised to see his brother on his front door this morning. Though, he was caught by surprise when Kankuro said he'd like to accompany Gaara on his morning workout in the gym. Apparently, he was going through an emotional roller coaster ride. Though the topic of them meeting was two days ago, it just kept on nagging him, torturing him, giving him more doubts than clearing his thoughts of whether or not meeting Sakura is a good idea or not.

Of course he wanted to meet Sakura. She's probably the only person that could ever interest him and keep him talking for 12 hours.

But then, what if she gets disappointed when they meet? Granted, he's aware that Real Life Gaara is different from Internet Gaara. Even though she said that she wouldn't change her view of him, there's still a chance that she will and what is he going to do if she did? Gaara doesn't want to lose someone he admits he's comfortable with. He only has four people he could count on in his entire life- never mind that he only knew her for a week, Gaara's not sure if he can take that kind of rejection.

Unfortunately, when he went over to the cooler to get a drink for him and his brother, some sick diving intervention happened and after he filled one cup, the cooler just practically stopped working all of a sudden.

He juggled with the handle every now and then and with his turmoil of emotions, he grew of worrying over about meeting Sakura to irritating rage. He could hear someone tap their foot behind him and he only grew more irritant because of that.

He blames Sasori for this. Years of being around his cousin must've made his impatience rub off on him.

So when he lightly kicked the cooler, the person behind him shouted and he, too, snapped.

"What the hell! Are you _dumb_ or you just don't know how to use a fricking cooler?!"

If his mind was in anyway composed, he would've agreed with his inner voice that the petite woman before him was indeed,

' _Beautiful_ '

But he wasn't. he was furious .

One thing led to another and if only she wasn't a girl then he would've punched her in the face already but unfortunately, she was so it brought him great satisfaction when he spilled the water over her pretty pink hair.

"Oops" he said sarcastically "My bad, I'm not sorry"

"Uhh…." He heard his brother say and he glared at him to shut up.

Gaara gave the frozen girl one last sneer before going to the boy's locker room, his brother trailing behind him.

"Gaara…" Kankuro started cautiously, "That was uncalled for…"

"She pissed me off" he spat, drying his body off of his sweat.

"Still, she's a girl and-"

"She should be grateful that she was born one because if she were a guy, I would've broke that face of hers"

" _Well what the hell are you all looking at?!"_

They heard a shriek from outside the room and it didn't take a genius to guess that it was that girl earlier. Gaara only huffed before grabbing a clean towel from his locker before going to the shower room.

At least she didn't cry like a wimpy babe, he could at least give her that much credit. Though, he probably scarred her to life now.

 **~0~**

At least the shower sobered his mood.

When he came back out, no one dared to look at him out of fear. He didn't receive the title of _**'The Raging Raccoon'**_ for nothing, though the receptionist of the gym confronted them about what happened but Kankuro took care of it.

So now here he was, walking beside his brother back to his apartment.

"Hey, why's Sasori's café open?" Kankuro pointed across the street to see the quaint, cabin-like café open with people going in "Didn't Sasori go to a seminar out of town yesterday?"

Gaara looked over the establishment and drawled in agreement then from out of the blue, he remembered a confidential detail.

"Sakura works there…"

"REALLY?!"

Gaara cursed, biting his tongue. He should punch himself.

"The Sakura?! She works at Sasori's?! you know I heard that our cuz got himself a waitress and my sources said that she's HOT!"

Pale green eyes narrowed dangerously at his older brother but before he could retort, Kankuro practically dragged him across the road. He could feel his beat louder and louder with every step and when he was about to open the door, Gaara snatched his arm back. Once again, he's on a roller coaster ride.

"What's wrong lil bro? Don't you want to meet your girlfriend?" he teased and Gaara glared.

"She's not my girlfriend"

"Uh-huh… that's what they all say" he rolled his eyes. kankuro was going to say more but his stomach shamelessly interjected "Well, I don't know what your problem is but I'm going in there"

"Kankuro, don't you dare-"

"Relax Gaara, I'm not gonna hit on her. I'm just gonna go grab me some breakfast and I'll be back before you know it!" he beamed "You want anything?"

He hesitated, his falling downcast; "Heaven's Delight"

With that, Kankuro went inside and Gaara slumped his back over the brick wall of the bookstore beside the café.

Already decided on what he'll order, Kankuro came over the counter and eyed the back curves of a pink-haired girl

He cleared his "Excuse me, miss?"

"Oh! Welcome to Red Sand's…"

 _Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,_

 _Humpty Dumpty had a great fall._

Kankuro's shocked gaze met Sakura's frown.

"Hey… weren't you the guy with that redhead bastard in the gym earlier?"

Still shocked beyond compare, all he needed to do was to read the girl's name on her tag and that's when the pieces fit together like a puzzle.

Kankuro may be happy-go-lucky; he may not appear as calculative as his siblings, and he may have gotten a smack on the head a few times for his goofiness but he's not an idiot. So he's not stupid enough to realize that the girl who his brooding brother embarrassed in public a few hours ago is the same girl that his same brooding brother has a crush on.

Oh Temari's gonna love this.

Now playing the innocent card, he scratched behind his head.

"Yeah… sorry about what my brother did"

"He was your brother?" she said it in a way that rivaled Gaara's.

He mocked a meek nod "He's not in a stable mood for the past few days. I know what he did was unforgivable but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him"

She crossed her arms over her chest "That depends. What he did was really uncalled for and I would've punched him if I was in my right mind back there too." She narrowed her eyes "So where is this jerk of a brother of yours?"

Amused at the way she insulted Gaara without second thought, he just smiled. This girl doesn't get out much, does she? He pointed his thumb behind him "Probably going emo out there. I'm really sorry for my bro"

With a deep sigh, Sakura let go of her frown and gave him a soft smile "It's okay. I guess it was partially my fault since I did shout at him and called him stupid" she straightened "So what'll you be having?"

"I'll have a Café Mocha and Heaven's Delight- both grandes, a croissant and chocolate chipped cookies" he beamed as Sakura went about the counter to get his order. He continued to watch her carefully, assessing the girl who caught his brother's attention. When she was setting their drinks on the plastic container, he rose his hand "Ah, could you perhaps, write a message to my brother?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's nothing much. You could just, I dunno, write something up on his drink? Maybe it'll make him less emo"

"And why would that do him any good?"

"Oh trust me, it'll make his day"

Sakura eyed him suspiciously. She doesn't like the way he grinned at her. it's almost like Naruto's whenever he's planning to take out some trick up his sleeve. Sighing, she surrendered. Curse her conscience and compassionate self.

"Fine"

The guy's smile widened but she gave him an honest smile and wave when he exited the café.

 **~0~**

Pushing himself from the brick wall, the hand clutching his red Nike drawstring bag tightened as his eyes narrowed at his brother's smug grin.

"Kankuro…" he drawled warningly "What did you-"

"Oh relax lil bro, I didn't do anything to your girl" he teased and shoved his drink in his hands.

Not wanting to see his brother's teasing grin, Gaara kept his head low, "Sakura… what is she like?" why does he feel so nervous?!

The older Sabaku perked "Oh _damn_ , you're a lucky guy Gaara. She's smoking **HOT** so you don't need to worry about that! She got the curves in the right places!" he whistled before adding a little seriousness in his tone "But really, aside from being beautiful, she's compassionate and she seems nice. Though I think she can be a bit violent so good luck with that"

Just this once, he'll pretend that his brother just didn't hoot her body. Hearing his last sentences made him feel a wave of relief over his chest and somehow, washed some of his doubt about seeing her.

Patting himself on the back, Kankuro said, "Hey, can I hang around your crib for a while?"

"No" Gaara snapped

"Aww come on Gaara. I'll give you these chocolate chipped cookies" he teased.

Tempting, "No"

"You sure? Sakura heated it up. Said she baked these herself" he dangled the bag over his green eyes tauntingly.

Curse his impulses, he probably looks like some kind of love sick puppy.

Without a word, he grabbed the bag and faced the other direction.

"I knew you'd cave in!"

Gaara groaned. When he was about to take a sip from his drink, he saw the letters written on the plastic using a red marker.

' **Hope you have a nice day~!'**

 **~Sakura**

He whipped his head around but all he saw was a swing of the doors to the kitchen.

* * *

At least things didn't get any worse for the rest of the day. She even forgot why she was so pissed off this morning in the first place.

Right now, the café's already closed but Sakura worked stayed for a while because she has to work on some cakes for Jiraiya's SweetStop and for the café's batch of Tiramisu cake- much to her delight, the new recipe she made was a big hit!

Sakura just finished placing the neatly cut strawberry on the vanilla icing when the door opened.

"Yo! Sakura, yeah!"

"Evening, Sakura"

"Deidara! Itachi!" she beamed, coming around and give the two guys a hug.

"Why are you still here, Sakura?" Itachi asked

"Someone's eager to throw me out" the raven-haired frowned and she giggled "I was just teasing. I'm just wrapping up the cakes for tomorrow's batch"

"This strawberry cake looks delicious, yeah!"

"No Deidara!" Sakura slapped his hand away and he made a playful hurt look.

Hearing the oven go off from the kitchen, Sakura shot the blonde a warning look before going inside. While she managed the cake, Itachi pressed a button underneath the counter and the shelves and counter changed into some sort of bar like what you see in a movie.

When Sakura returned, more people were already in the bar.

"SAKURAAAA! TOBI MISS YOU!" Sakura stumbled when a loud raven-haired crushed her into a bear hug. She looked back at Pein who steadied her on her feet.

"Thanks Nagato" she teased and he only gave her a look before ruffling her hair like a child. Once she returned the gesture to Tobi, she said, "Did I miss something? What are you guys doing here? Are the others coming?"

"Yeah they'll be here in a bit, yeah. Oh and no, we don't have anything to do so we decided to crash in Sasori's place for a few drinks"

"Ohhh. Sasori's not here though"

"Yeah, heard he went to another seminar or something. Che! He's gonna be all high and mighty again and say his art style is better than mine" Deidara huffed "At least that cousin of his isn't like him, yeah"

Gulping, she asked, "Cousin? By any chance… is his name Gaara?"

Deidara looked surprised "Yeah…" he drawled "That's 'im, Gaara the sand kid. The redhead's talented though but my fireworks are still better! They're the highlight of the beach every night after all, yeah!"

Sakura giggled, gently caressing Tobi's head on her lap like some sort of pet "Of course they are, Deidara. Your choreography with the fireworks are the best shows I've seen"

The blonde beamed and turned his head between Itachi and Pein "Sakura you're the **BEST**! Yeah! At least _somebody_ knows true art!"

Itachi rolled his eyes and continued to set up the drinks while Pein didn't respond and eyed Sakura carefully. Unfortunately for her, he didn't miss the way she flinched when Deidara mentioned Sasori's cousin.

"By the way Sakura, how'd you know Gaara? He your friend or something, yeah?"

She laughed sheepishly, a trail of pink marked across her features "Kind of"

"Sakura" Pein finally spoke "Is there something we should know about?"

Genuinely confused by his statement, she tilted her head to the side. The other males in the room, however, caught Pein's drift and eyed her carefully as well.

"Does Sakura want to tell Tobi something?"

"Huh?" she looked at the others, their gazes made her feel small but she brought her hands ups in defense "I don't understand but I'm fine guys. There's nothing needed to tell"

"You sure, yeah?"

"Pretty sure"

"Well, whatever it is just tell us when you need something, yeah?"

"You're special to us, Sakura" Itachi's voice was sincere. It makes her wonder what she did right to deserve these people's friendship and loyalty. Apparently, once you're in their gang, you're as good as family.

"After all, you're Sasori's girl. He'll kill us if we let anything happen to you, yeah"

Sakura sighed "I'm not Sasori's girl. He doesn't like me that way and he made it clear himself, right? Besides, he's more like a brother to me"

"Yeah but you're still his favorite. I mean, you think he'll let us go unscathed if we were late for two hours, yeah?"

"How did you…" she groaned "Ino… seriously, your cousin doesn't know when to shut up." Deidara only smiled at her before she turned to Pein "So is Konan coming?" she regarded her senior and fellow medical student at Konoha University.

Pein waved his hand "She said she'll need her sleep for her defense on her thesis on Monday"

"Shouldn't you be preparing for that too, Sakura?" Itachi pointed

"Don't worry Itachi. I got my thesis covered. I'll be more than ready for my defense on Wednesday but there's still a few things left for me to do so I won't be working on the café this week. Hopefully Sasori will be back tomorrow; if not in late afternoon, maybe tomorrow night"

Soon, the other members of Sasori's gang came and they chatted the minutes away until Naruto finally came to pick her up. He just came back from the Hyuuga estate; probably discussing about their dojos. As much as Naruto wants to take over his father's dojo, his mother insisted that he should at least finish a four-year course.

On the ride back to their apartment, Naruto smiled genuinely at her non-frowning face.

"Somebody's in a good mood. Anything happened today?"

"Naruto, keep your eyes on the road" she chuckled "I guess so. Compared to what happened this morning, everything was a-okay. I even got a huge tip earlier"

"So this whole gym fiasco's behind already behind ya?"

Sakura nodded "Yep! Thanks for being there for me Naruto. What will I ever do without you?"

"You'd probably be the saddest and loneliest person on earth because you don't have me to cheer you up! Believe it!"

"Probably" She giggled "And for that, I think you deserve a reward. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"I already ate at Hinata's but I'm always up for round two!"

"Then you better turn this car to Ichiraku, Naruto, 'cause I'll be treating you to as much ramen as you want!"

"WHOA! Who are you and what have you done to my sis, Sakura?! No wait- Don't answer that! Off to Ichiraku's we go! You're the best Sakura!"

She chuckled more at the blonde's enthusiasm then she noticed her red Nike drawstring at the back of the car.

"Oh there's my bag" She reached for it "What is it doing here?"

"You left it in the car when I drove you at the café earlier. You didn't notice that you carried it with you?"

She shook her head and opened it to make sure the contents are still there… oh there are contents alright… just… not the contents she's expecting…

At first her face turned pale and for every second, her face grew hotter and hotter, mortified at what she's staring.

"This is not my bag"

"What?"

"This is not my bag!"

"What do you mean Sakura? Wasn't your bag a red Nike?"

"Yeah but this is not my drawstring bag!"

"How come?"

"Because, Naruto, I don't own a pair of black and red boxer shorts!"

* * *

Kankuro's jaw opened so wide that it threatened to break and roll on his carpeted floor while Temari's eyes were wide and her face looked like somebody hit her with red paint.

Gaara, however, looked so perplexed with his head tilted to the side. An open, red Nike drawstring bag settled on his lap and he continued to stare at the piece of cloth he's holding up.

'B-cup?' he read the tag at the back and if he looked down, he could see a matching pair of red.

"This is not my bag"

.

.

.

'Oh shit' both Sakura and Gaara cursed.

* * *

 **Finally an update!**

 **I know it's been long but I made this chapter a long one as compensation!**

 **Look forward in the next chapter!**

 **Ciao~!**


	4. Chapter 4

' **-even if I told him that I'd buy him as much ramen as he wants, that doesn't mean he has to suck my wallet dry! I swear, if I didn't hit him and dragged him out of Ichiraku, I would've been completely broke! Not to mention that this is the last week I'm ever going to receive allowance from my folks' ~Sakura**

' **Why?' ~Gaara**

' **Both mine and Naruto's parents have this rule that we're not allowed to ask them for money once school ends (Except when completely necessary). They say it's to train us not to rely on them too much and so that we'll learn and have experience on how to earn our own dough' ~Sakura**

' **I see' ~Gaara**

' **As crazy as it sounds, it's actually effective. That's why it's not that hard for me to work in Sasori's café. I've been taking on summer jobs since I started junior high. Naruto takes a job either in the car wash, as a mailman or as a delivery guy while I've worked in a few cafes, fast food and flower shop (the one my friend owns). One time Naruto and I took the same job in a convenient store.' ~Sakura**

' **You work too hard' ~Gaara**

' **Not really. It's not like I have anything better to do during summer break if we're not on an outing' ~Sakura**

' **Oh' ~Gaara**

' **Okay, what is wrong with you? You're different today' ~Sakura**

' **What do you mean?' ~Gaara**

' **Gaara, I may not be able to see you but I can sense it- don't ask me why because I don't know how too.**

 **Are you okay? Did something happen?' ~Sakura**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

' **You don't have to tell me if you don't want to' ~Sakura**

' **It's not that.**

 **I just do not know how I should ask you about this…' ~Gaara**

' **It's something about me? Well as long as it's within my capability… shoot and ask away!' ~Sakura**

 **.**

' **Did you go the gym this morning?' ~Gaara**

' **Yes… how did you know that?' ~Sakura**

' **Then you realize that you're missing your local library card, a pair of red wrist and ankle weights, ipod shuffle, earphones, a black wrist step walker, a skull towel, a few necessities and… clothing' ~Gaara**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

' **Gaara, are you perhaps… also missing a black rabid raccoon shirt, ipod shuffle, earphones, red boxing bandages, red hand grips, and… a few of your necessities too?' ~Sakura**

 **.**

 **.**

' **Yes' ~Gaara**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

' **We have the same red Nike drawstring bag, don't we?' ~Sakura**

' **It appears so' ~Gaara**

* * *

"Whoa…" were the words Naruto only managed to formulate after reading the recent messages that Sakura showed him. The pinkette suddenly barged in his room, completely ending his dream of Hinata feeding him ramen as she not-so-gently shook him up. If not for her shocked, pale face then he would've gone back to sleep. "That's some crazy coincidence!"

' _I KNOW! I CAN'T BELIEVE OF ALL THE BAGS I COULD'VE SWITCHED WITH, IT HAD TO BE_ _ **HIS**_ _!_ ' she would've shouted that if only she isn't so shocked of this whole revelation.

"Well don't just sit there on my bed all night, go back to your room and get some sleep. You agreed to meet with him, right?" he crossed his arms, watching Sakura flush her cheeks but then slowly turn pale as she continued to stare at his orange sheets.

' _She's nervous_ ' he told himself ' _I don't blame her, I'd be as shocked as her if I've met someone online in just a week and then get our bags switched_ '

But that's not what's really bothering the rosette. It's the fact that she's finally going to see Gaara. It wasn't honestly her intention to go the gym that early in the morning to look for him. It just came out of whim! And never mind the fact that someone rude just embarrassed her in public- wait, if she got her bag switched with Gaara, then that meant that he was there on that morning too, right? That means he saw how she was humiliated by that jackass!

Oh how embarrassing!

If he really did see that moment and recognize it was her…

Oh god what will he think of her?! Knowing him, he wouldn't laugh- he'd be disappointed!

Blood drained further from her cheeks and that didn't go unnoticed by the blond. "Sakura" he scooted closer, grabbing her shoulders to turn her attention to him. "If you want, I could go in your place to switch bags tomorrow" he offered worriedly and she blinked "You just look… uhh… like you're not ready and I'm sure he'll understand-"

"NO!" she cried, her cheeks flushing "It's okay Naruto, I'm just… surprised by all this. Thank you though"

She gave him a reassuring smile and it was enough to convince him.

"It's just… all of this… it's all happening so fast! Granted, I wanted to meet him but I never realized that I'd get that chance… so soon"

"Yeah I know. It's crazy and somewhat creepy. You only knew the guy for a week and now you're gonna meet him personally!"

"Oh Naruto what if he sees me and I don't match up to his standards? What if I disappoint him or make a fool of myself tomorrow-"

"HEY! WHO ARE YOU?!" Sakura furrowed her brows, taken aback with confusion "The Sakura I know is not a wimpy sissy! Sakura is my best friend; she's amazing and doesn't give a shit of what people think of her so tell me who you are before I call the fuzz!"

Sakura chuckled, finally snapping from all those turmoil of emotions. Naruto's right. She shouldn't be so worked up by all this. It's so unlike her. Whether or not things turn out great tomorrow doesn't matter. If things go well with their meeting then that's great but if not, well, that's just sad but Sakura learned after all these years that it wouldn't do her any good to wallow up in her depression. She should always stand up and hold her head high.

She clapped her palms over her cheeks and smiled genuinely at Naruto who grinned at her widely in return.

"You're right. Thanks Naruto" she gave him a hug and he hugged her back "You're the best"

"I know" he chirped, letting go before giving her a peck on the forehead. "Now go on and get some sleep. You owe me for ruining my dream with Hinata though" he pouted.

Sakura giggled, "Sure"

* * *

" **So, tomorrow at seven?" ~Sakura**

" **Okay" ~Gaara**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

" **Where exactly are we going to meet?" ~Sakura**

" **How about at the gym's fruit bar?" ~Gaara**

" **Sure" ~Sakura**

" **Okay then, just in case, I'll be on the last stool on the left" ~Gaara**

" **Okay, I'll see you there" ~Sakura**

" **Yeah" ~Gaara**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

" **Sakura, I** _ **really DO**_ **want to meet you" ~Gaara**

" **Me too, Gaara. Me too" ~Sakura**

* * *

Karma

This is what they call karma, right? The belief that if you have done a deed- either good or bad, it'll come back to you in the form of either a reward or a punishment?

This must be from all the fights he's been through over the years. So this is his punishment? But wait, should he really call it a punishment?

After all, this is his chance. He's finally given a chance to meet Sakura, the wonderful, interesting girl he met online. He's not asking much and he doesn't quite care about what she looks like; he's not one to judge people on looks. Hardly anyone could stand a minute in his presence and he'd be dammed if he let this girl slip through his fingers.

But that doesn't mean he can't… what's the right term? Feel nervous… _anxious_ about all this, can he?

As much as he mused at his siblings' reactions, he instantly dreaded it when he rummaged through the bag. He turned the items around in the hopes of finding at least a clue, a name-preferably, or maybe initials to know who this bag might belong to.

So when he reached the bottom of the bag; if it was possible, his skin turned paler and he swore time stood still when he read the letters engraved on the card for the local library.

 **Sakura Haruno**

No, it can't be… can it?

How? Just how?! Of all the bags…

Wait, Sakura is a common name, right? But then how many girls have the same first and last name? Plus, if he remembers it correctly, Sakura told him her family lives at the center of Konoha and that her entire family tree is really small.

If… if this bag is really hers… then that would mean she was in the gym that morning too, right?

Shit

If so, then she would've seen the way he humiliated that bratty girl. It wasn't his fault… maybe a little, but in his defense, that girl started it by shouting and insulting him.

Well, he always have the option to just leave the bag with the gym's receptionist for the lost and found- BUT! Can he really do that? This is his chance for Pete's sake!

The deal was sealed the moment he confirmed that the bag he got was definitely hers. It brought him greater astonishment when Sakura happened to have his bag too. If a lot of people knew about them then he would've suspected that someone pulled this prank on them… but unfortunately that wasn't the case. This whole 'bag-switching' case happened by pure coincidence.

A really sick coincidence.

He swore that _that_ last conversation they had for the night was the shortest and most awkward chat they ever had. Her words became shorter and her replies took time- as if she's carefully picking out her words but in truth, she's as shocked and as nervous as he and he doesn't blame her. And what of their meeting tomorrow? Since she was there that morning then she would've seen the show he caused, right? And once they meet then she would've recognized him on the spot because really, who could forget a face with black-rimmed eyes? Not to mention the tattoo on his forehead.

Gaara's not concerned at how Sakura would react to his physical features- he remembers that Sakura hates bullies and what he did to that girl was downright bullying. If he was keeping scores then that would definitely take away 50 points from his board.

Oh god what is he going to do?

* * *

"Thanks for the ride, Naruto" she smiled up at him when he pulled over in the reserved slot of the gym's parking area. It's still a few minutes before the meeting time but fortunately- or unfortunately, there was no traffic on an early Sunday. "You sure you want to come?" she raised her brow at him suspiciously.

Naruto grinned, unstrapping his seatbelt "Don't worry Sakura, I won't interrupt your date" she felt a wave of heat over her face "I wanna see what this Gaara guy looks like anyway. I'll be staying somewhere a little far, so don't worry about me being a third wheel. Besides, it's been a while since I've had a good exercise"

Knowing that there's no talking out of it anymore, she sighed before they head inside the gym. She should've expected it when Naruto stood over by their door with his keys hooked over his finger.

Sakura sighed with a bit of disappointment when she saw nobody on the fruit bar. It's still early and most of the patrons are either just arriving or doing their routine. So the childhood friends made their way to the bar and Naruto greeted the man behind the counter.

"Hey Shizuo!"

"Morning Heiwajima"

"Yo Naruto, Sakura! You're earlier than usual. I barely just arrived"

Naruto grinned and they both took their seats on the stools.

"We just arrived too"

"So what can I get you guys?"

"Orange juice please!" Naruto raised his hand enthusiastically.

Sakura sighed "You do know that you're not supposed to drink anything with sugar before you work out, right?"

Shizuo chuckled "Naruto, listen to the doctor"

"Besides, you already ate a bowl of cereal and milk. That's more than enough" Naruto pouted and stick his tongue out at her. Sakura did the same before taking out her water bottle "Mind filling this up with water for me?"

"Sure thing" the blonde quickly filled her red water bottle before giving it to her "Speaking of water, I heard what happened yesterday"

Sakura flinched "You weren't here yesterday"

He shrugged "I came in the afternoon and heard some guys talking over it. I wish I came earlier and saw it for myself." She groaned "I know you're strong, Sakura, but you should've controlled yourself better"

"I was in a hurry and _dying_ of thirst"

Shizuo sighed "You just _have_ to step on the 'coon's tail… unbelievable"

"Coon?" Naruto and Sakura asked in unison as Shizuo stared at them as if they grew additional limbs.

Scratching the back of his neck, he answered "Man, you two should really get out more. You guys have been in here for like what? Four and a half years and you still don't know who the Raging Raccoon is?"

"That's why we asked" Naruto crossed his arms "So this Raging Raccoon is the same guy who embarrassed Sakura? He sounds familiar though"

After all, in the fighting world, it's like tradition that you should have a name of your own. Naruto's called the Furious Fox as Sakura is called the Burning Phoenix (symbolizing the creature of rebirth; because, unanimously, she is training to heal people but she has the strength to kill them as well). Heck, even Sasori has the nickname Puppet Master and not to mention Sakura's teacher, Tsunade, also known as the Slug Princess.

"Yep, He's got quite a reputation in this town. I don't know the full details but they say he's strong enough to the point people would gladly avoid him. He caused a few ruckuses in here and in the streets but he always gets away with it since he doesn't start the fight so people can't put the blame on him. I've heard that he once beat up a guy so bad that the poor sap was sent to the hospital and had to have a surgery 'cause of multiple fractured and dislodged bones, internal bleeding and chances were that he could become blind because the veins in his eyes popped"

Sakura nearly choked on her water upon hearing that "HE's the one who did that?!"

"So it wasn't just an exaggerated story?"

"Heck no!" she crossed her arms, pinching the bridge of her nose as memories flashed in her head "That was the worst case I've ever seen in a fist fight! I thought the guy was hit by a truck when they rushed him in the ER"

"Were you the one who treated him?"

"That was three years ago Shizuo and since I still haven't gotten that far in my studies, I'm not allowed to be assigned to any patient- much less a surgery" she sighed "It was Tsunade who led that surgery and since I'm her ' _star student'_ , she got me to assist. Seriously, the guy was in critical condition but she still wanted to see how good I am. I don't know whether to respect her more or think she's crazy because of that" Sakura turned to Naruto "You remember that Naruto. It was the night I had to stay in the hospital till three in the morning"

Naruto jerked his head up "Oh yeah! I remember that! It was the time we had to cancel Bad Movie Friday"

Sakura hung her head "Just my luck, I just had to shout at the town's most violent psychopath and why? Because I was fricking thirsty"

"Correction, I wouldn't say he's the ' _most'_ \- as in, _number one_ because according to the poll, his cousin's worse than him and rumor says that said cousin is part of a dangerous gang underground" Sakura groaned and he chuckled "Sorry for scaring ya Sakura. But don't worry, I don't think he's as bad as people say he is. I've spoken to him a few times when he's over here at the bar and from what I can tell; he's just a quiet guy who's easily bored. Plus, he's not as active or as ' _violent'_ anymore; heard that he's enjoying his job and is keeping quiet for a while. Oh and I never heard him hit a girl before so at least you're partially off the hook. I mean, sure he embarrassed you, but he didn't hit you, right?"

"Besides, I'm always here to protect you, Sakura" Naruto smiled and she smiled back in appreciation.

Sakura stood up from her stool "I'll be in the ladies room, be back in a sec"

And just as she closed the door of the girl's washroom, three figures entered the gym.

* * *

Gaara was beyond pissed. It's bad enough that he's had to deal with his own emotions so he most definitely not wants his siblings to become another source of his growing migraine.

If he was in any stable condition then he would've succeeded in scaring them off and leave him alone. Unfortunately for him, there's no stopping a determined Temari and Kankuro seemed to hold valuable information about Sakura he doesn't know of and he just _had_ to keep on biting the bait.

"Okay, so where's my baby brother's special girl?" Temari asked, her hands on her hips, turning her head side to side.

Gaara sighed. They're at the fruit bar area but there's no one else there except for Shizuo talking to a blonde sipping orange juice. "She's not here yet" he looked at his watch and it was exactly 7 o'clock. ' _But she'll be here soon_ '

He tightened his grip on Sakura's bag that hung around his shoulder as he followed his siblings towards a table after they ordered a fruit shake.

"Temari, Kankuro, it is unwise to take sugar before you exercise"

"Oh relax Gaara I'm not gonna workout. I came to see your girl" she smirked at him.

"She's not my girl"

"Yeah, yeah keep telling yourself that"

Gaara snorted "Whatever" he stood up before giving his siblings a threatening glare "Just stay there and don't any of you _dare_ step within ten feet of me and Sakura"

"Just go" Temari waved at him dismissively. He sneered them one last time before making his way to the last stool at the left of the fruit bar. Meanwhile, his siblings watched his back, a mutual smile on their faces "Oh my baby brother's finally gonna meet his true love" she sighed dreamily, wiping a nonexistent tear "I'm so proud"

Kankuro snickered "Oh Temari, you don't know half of what's going to happen next"

Gaara settled himself on the designated stool, looking at his watch again; he sighed and took out his phone. Since he's already here, he might as well send her a text.

* * *

 **I just arrived. I'm here at the bar ~Gaara**

Sakura took deep breaths before replying. She just finished washing her face when her phone buzzed.

 **I actually just arrived too, I'll be right there ~Sakura**

Placing a hand on the door, she took a deep breath; her free arm hugged his bag securely on her chest "Here goes nothing"

When the pinkette went over the fruit bar, Shizuo wasn't there and she glared at Naruto- catching him red-handed on sipping an orange juice when she specifically told him not to. When he got her ' _How dare you not listen to me_ ' look, he gave him a sheepish grin before pointing at his left.

She sucked in her breath when she saw the figure sitting there. Naruto gave her a thumbs up before mouthing the words ' _good luck'_ to her and gently gave her a push forward.

Sakura felt her heart beat faster with every step as she approached. He got his back turned towards her as he faced the wall so she couldn't see his face. Yet, if she paid attention to her subconscious, it was screaming at her that those red locks are achingly familiar.

"Gaara?"

Hearing someone with a soft, feminine voice say his name caught him off guard and he visibly flinched. Taking a deep breath, he turned around.

"Saku…ra?"

Gaara drawled at the last syllable. Both of their eyes widened simultaneously as they stared at each other in disbelief.

 _Red hair, black-rimmed-green eyes, love tattoo on the forehead…_

"Fuck…"

 _Pink hair, green eyes, hourglass figure…_

"You gotta be shitting me…"

 _ **ISN'T HE/SHE THE ONE FROM YESTERDAY?!**_

Their eyes drifted to the drawstring bag hanging from each other's shoulders and as if sensing their mutual messages, they exchanged bags, feeling the jolt of electricity course down their spines at the brief contact of their fingers.

Sakura and Gaara checked the contents of their bags and both nodded in approval. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to quench their initial shock.

They heard an ungraceful, spitting, spluttering sound but both of them were too engrossed in their own world to notice.

Apparently, Temari and Kankuro were too absorbed in talking about something that they didn't notice the pinkette's arrival. Just after they exchanged bags did Kankuro grin wolfishly as he pointed the girl staring at their brother. Unfortunately for him, when he turned to see his sister's reaction, his face was immediately showered by her mango shake- deliberately spitting them from her mouth as reflex to avoid choking.

"TEMARI! That was so gross!" he furiously wiped a wad of tissue over his face.

"Haruno?" Temari drawled.

As if things can't get any better, Shizuo returned, taking his place behind the counter, facing his blonde companion.

"I'm back! So, what did I miss?" Naruto pointed to his left and he almost missed Shizuo's shocked expression. He leaned over Naruto as he whispered through his teeth, eyes never leaving the pair who's locked in a staring contest "Naruto he's the one I we're talking about earlier! He's the guy who spilled water over Sakura yesterday! He's Gaara, the Raging Raccoon!"

Naruto Namikaze coughed loudly, hitting his chest hard as he choked on his drink.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Apparently, Naruto's shout was what snapped Sakura from her reverie. She blinked and clutched her bag tighter around her. "Uhmm… t-thank you for returning my bag"

Gaara continued to stare at her "Sakura… I'm-"

"I-I uhh… I better go"

Gaara barely blinked when Sakura swiftly turned on her heel and walk out of the gym, Naruto trailing behind her.

"S-S-Sakura, wait!"

* * *

"Sakura… That was-"

"To the SweetStop Naruto, please"

 _First you insulted him and now you're running away from him… great job Sakura, he probably thinks you're a coward now._

* * *

"HOW did you know her?! I just met her yesterday!"

"Of course I know her! She's the one who looked after Shikamaru at the hospital when he was caught in that bike accident!"

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"There are BILLIONS of girls named Sakura! It's a very common name! How would I know we're talking about the same girl?! If I knew her last name then I would've known before you did! Don't just stand there Gaara! Go after her! This is your chance! Don't screw it up further!"

"In case you didn't notice, she just left with a blonde guy a few seconds ago!"

"Well where the hell are we gonna find her?!"

"… She should be stopping at Sasori's…"

 _First you embarrassed her in public and all you did was stare at her… How commendable Gaara, she probably hates you now._

* * *

"What are you three doing here?"

He drawled, eyeing the three people who barged in his café. Well, two of them barged in and the other one just trailed behind with a face similar to a child who's scolded by his mother. He just got back but since it's almost opening time, he might as well prep up the place.

"Nice to see ya too, big bro!" Kankuro grinned and he felt the corner of his eye twitch at the name he used.

"Just got back, Sasori?" Temari asked.

"Yeah…" he drawled.

The other redhead finally snapped from his trance to face their eldest cousin "Hey"

"Hey" Sasori answered back, turning his gaze from them to pick up and cloth to dry the glasses. "Again, what are you three doing here? The café's not open yet"

"We need to talk to your waitress"

Sasori stopped, narrowing his eyes at Kankuro "What do you want from her?"

Gaara stepped up "Remember that I told you I've been… talking to someone online from Kankuro's stupid dating website?"

"What about it?" he turned to put the glass on the shelves behind him.

"Apparently, my match is none other than your employee, Sakura Haruno"

At that, Sasori visibly flinched and the glass he's holding on his hand shattered in the force of his grip- making the two older Sabaku's flinch as well. Gaara blinked at his cousin's expressive reaction. It took a while before he responded.

"Ho?" Sasori drawled, hissing as he slowly turned his head- making the Sabaku siblings gulp at the site of their eldest cousin's not-so-pleased, _creepy_ smile " _ **Interesting**_. Do enlighten me, _dear cousin_ "

* * *

' _NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOO!_ '

"How is this all happening?!" Sakura stopped pacing and glared at Naruto "You set this up, didn't you?"

"What?! No, I didn't!" Naruto frowned "I may have pulled a few pranks on you but I would never do something like this! I never even knew the guy personally!"

As much as she hates to admit, Naruto's right, this isn't a prank. She shouldn't take it out on him. He's been nothing but supportive all this time.

"It's weird enough that we got our bags switched and _now_ it turns out that the rude guy who humiliated me yesterday is the same sweet guy who I've been talking to for the last week?! And did I mention that he's the second worst psychopath in this town?" wait, didn't Shizuo say that the number one is Gaara's cousin? Well, who other person does she know that's related to Gaara that lives in this town? "That means Sasori…" Sakura groaned, clutching her hair in a threat to yank it off "Great! I'm surrounded by maniacs!"

"Sakura, you're being paranoid! Stop that before you chew your entire hand off!" Sakura snapped her hand back to her side, whining in his direction "Look on the bright side, at least he didn't chew you off. I think he's as shocked as you are"

The pinkette further whined- groaned and Naruto just had enough of it. He never liked seeing Sakura so troubled. It's always usually her who does the thinking and he does the whining. Then again, he's the one who does the comforting.

"Sakura, look at me" hands firmly on her shoulders, she glanced up at the blonde's serious blue eyes "Running away won't solve your problem"

"I'm not-"

"Yes you are! That's what you're doing right now! Look, I know this is all crazy but you can't blame anyone for all this. Call it fate or coincidence or whatever- I don't care! You just can't run away! Didn't you swear that you won't ever run away anymore? Listen, I don't know him as much as you do but by the way he looked at you when we left, he's confused and very sorry. I bet he's out there looking for you right now! So what if he's one of the craziest guys in town?" he looked at her in the eye "Sakura, you can tell if a person is lying- now answer me, didn't you like Gaara because of who he is?"

She blushed "I don't like-"

"Just answer the question!"

It felt like eons when Sakura finally took a deep breath, an appreciative smile lingered on her face "You're right. This isn't like me at all. I'm just adding more fuel to the fire" she tiptoed and kissed her brother's cheek "Thanks Naruto"

With his serious gaze washed away, his cheerful grin went back in place "You're the one who got me and Hinata together so it's only fair for me to help you. I'm the one who got you on that site and how you met Gaara in the first place. Besides, if he does chew you off, I'll beat him up good!"

She chuckled and grabbed his hand "Come on, I think I know where he'll be waiting for me"

* * *

"I see…" Sasori drawled. His arms crossed over his chest to prevent him from shattering more drinking glasses while he listened to Gaara's story. His expression was impassive that not even Gaara could read and his sudden reaction about the pink-haired made it even more confusing.

All the while Gaara cautiously wondered at Sasori's sudden outbursts- feeling sorry for the glasses' demise under his cousin's unheard strength. Why did he act like that? Does that mean he likes Sakura too? Sure letting her work in his café is a big clue but he's never taken interest in relationships before… at least, he's never told him anything like that.

"And then she ran away from you" his eldest cousin chuckled darkly, shaking his head "No wonder she's always on the phone" he looked up, eyeing the youngest Sabaku "You're the one who she's been talking to for the last few days. I never would've imagined"

A stumble from the kitchen caught all their attention then the doors swung open to reveal the pink-haired girl they've all been waiting for. To Gaara's surprise, Sakura's expression wasn't as stunned like earlier. Instead, when their gazes met, she gave him a soft- apologetic (?) smile. But she returned to being surprised when she saw the other redhead sitting across from him- who was staring at her critically.

"Sasori?" like a deer caught in headlights, she straightened "I came on time!"

"Yes" Sasori drawled, looking at his wristwatch "And with five seconds to spare" he stood up and walked towards her direction. He stopped in front of her and she saw the slightest movement of his chocolate brown eyes towards Gaara and… who were those two people with him?

"Sasori, I-"

"Don't bother, he told me everything" Sasori turned halfway towards Gaara "I'm afraid, cousin, that Sakura has work to do and since she'll be managing the café alone, she'll be too busy to entertain you or your siblings. If you want to talk to her and settle your misunderstanding, I suggest you wait for her until her shift ends- which, I would say… is around closing time" his voice was challenging, taunting "That is, it's understandable if you have other things to do-"

"I'll wait" the answer came out instantly, his eyes meeting Sasori's dare head on "I'll wait for as long as it takes"

The sculptor smirked and shook his head "Suit yourself" he turned back to Sakura "I'm tired and hungry so I'll be at the back garden. Whip me a Santa Fe omelet, and mango mimosa-"

"With or without garnish?"

"With garnish, and throw in some muffins- _**no nuts**_ "

"I just threw the first batch in the oven"

"Good girl" Sasori nodded approvingly before patting her head. "And tell Namikaze to get out of my kitchen before he eats all the stock. I'll see you guys later"

"O-okay"

As soon as the older redhead exited to a different door, Sakura stuck her head inside the kitchen and yelled. The blonde guy the siblings saw earlier came running out with a piece of bread in his mouth before settling himself on a chair not too far from them. Once that was done, Sakura clapped her hands and gave off a bright smile.

"So, you guys want some breakfast too?"

* * *

"Here, Sasori"

The redhead, who was leisurely swinging on a hammock, stopped whatever he was sketching on his sketch pad and regarded the pinkette who came in his private sanctuary behind the café (This is where they grow some of their organic ingredients after all).

He stopped and sat on the chair of the coffee table near the hammock where Sakura set his breakfast. He closed his eyes as the newly cooked meal entered his nostrils and he nodded approvingly once more. Once she was done, he wasted no time and ate.

"You're back earlier than I expected"

"Let's just say most of the connoisseurs and fat cats were too eager to get a hold of my masterpieces. Plus, after the seminar, the auction went accordingly so I came back as soon as the papers were signed"

"Your reputation precedes you" she cleared her throat "Anyway, my defense is on Wednesday"

"I know" he took a sip from his mimosa "How many days do you want off?"

"The whole week, maybe? After the defense I still have one more exam and Tsunade still have some last minute jobs for me in the hospital"

"Okay" he wiped his mouth after finishing his omelet and then grabbed the muffin before looking at her "I expect a perfect *1.00, Sakura. No more, no less"

Sakura feigned a mock hurt "You wound me Sasori" then braced her hands on her hips "My scholarship diploma isn't just for show, you know"

"I know. Besides, if you do well, I'll give you a reward"

She perked up at that. Did he just say reward? Her eyes gleamed mischievously. Those who knew Sasori well enough knew that when he says he'll give a ' _reward'_ , it'll be something good- really, _**really**_ good. Sakura learned that only a fool would pass up an opportunity to back away from Sasori's challenge without trying. And to name an example, he got her to take lessons from a famous patisserie that only rich people can afford (it got better when she learned that Hinata also takes classes there too) with all expenses paid by him.

"What kind of reward?" she asked giddily like a child given candy.

The redhead waddled his finger at her, a small smile on his face "Uh-uh-uh, it's a secret. But I assure you it's something you will like" she giggled "I'll give you two weeks off so you could rest after your finals"

"Two weeks?!" her eyes narrowed suspiciously "You're not that generous… who are you and what have you done to Sasori Akasuna?"

The redhead rolled his eyes "I'm just giving you what you deserve. Unless, of course, you insist that you don't want the extra week off, then that's fine by me-"

"Just kidding! Thank you so much boss! I'm really grateful!"

As Sakura laughed, Sasori shook his head "You deserve it anyway. Besides, don't you want to use that extra week to get to know my baby cousin?"

Heat wallowed her face and seeing her blush caused the sculptor to smirk widely as he stared at her with his cheek resting on his palm, waiting for her response. Instead, she glared at him but it only produced a small chuckle from him.

"M-my personal life is none of your business, _boss_ " she breathed to keep her blush down "By the way, why did you tell him that? I do my job just fine and you know that I'm a proficient multitasker so you don't mind if I talked to my friends or some of the customers while I work"

"I know. It's a test"

"A test- what?"

"Gaara lived with me and my grandmother since the kid was thirteen. I'm not the best but I practically took care of him so I know what he is." He linked his fingers and stared at her seriously "From what I can tell when he told me your story, you pretty much caught his attention and that's not something anybody can do right off the bat. However, he can be unpredictable and has some serious trust issues. Case in point, he embarrassed you in public" at the mention of the ' _water incident_ ', Sakura looked away and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear nervously "Though he's not as unstable as before, you still have to watch out for sudden mood swings. He's just not good in keeping his emotions in check. And now that we have this sudden plot twist- it was my job to keep him out of trouble from others, and from himself. Also, I may have rubbed off on him a bit so for this round, I'm testing just how much he values you if he can –and I quote ' _wait for as long as it takes_ '"

Sakura could only stare at the redhead- dumbfounded. This is the second time she ever seen him so… concerned- the first time was when they had that fateful encounter.

"You really care about him, don't you?"

Sasori clicked his tongue, throwing her a glare but otherwise said, "I worry for him. People who have potential are not to be wasted" he turned to her "Like you"

Sakura flushed. After all these years she still isn't used to being praised, especially by someone like him. A legend known to all who rose to stardom in the art industry practically overnight. Shaking her head, she gave him a genuine smile.

"You really love your family" it wasn't a question nor an opinion. She laughed when she saw the lightest twinge of pink on his ears.

Crossing his arms, he said "I take care of whatever's left of me. Besides, with you in the picture, I have more blackmail material on him"

She giggled "Yeah right"

"Whatever" he rolled his eyes "Now get back to work. I don't want your blonde brother sneaking into my kitchen again"

The pinkette gave him a mock salute "Aye sir!" she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before skipping back inside the café "Glad to have you back Sasori!" she smiled.

He smiled back. Unbeknownst to her, he'll be testing Sakura too. Not that he doesn't trust the girl, no. she's practically like family to him and his grandmother ever since they settled their score. Truth be told he did not expect those two to become close, much less meet each other on a dating website… a dating website for crying out loud! It just sounds too comical to be believed in.

Sasori downed the last of his mimosa before settling himself back on his hammock. This is the first time he ever seen Gaara interested in girls. However, 'interested' is just way too bland. It's obvious, by the way he told him his side of the story, that Gaara Sabaku is very much infatuated with the exotic haired, green-eyed spitfire. Also, as much as the guilt clawed on him, he wasn't there for Sakura when her ex-boyfriend cheated on her. If it weren't for Namikaze, he would've hunted the bastard down and turn him into one of his puppets. That is why, after seeing her- as obvious to his trained eye as it seemed- attracted to his youngest cousin; as out of character as it sounds, he wouldn't want those two make a decision they'll regret.

Which is why he has to foresee this event unfold till the very last.

* * *

Sakura sighed in relief. Finally, after thirty minutes since she announced the café was closed, she's finally done cleaning and leaving the rest for the evening bar. Speaking of which, things weren't all that different or awkward as she expected it to be, well, maybe a little. Those two people who were with Gaara, she learned, were actually his siblings. As much as she wanted to give the brunette, his brother Kankuro- she learned, a piece of her mind, and as much as she wanted to catch up with Temari (she remembered that she was Shikamaru's girlfriend and they spent some time when she took care of him when he was in the hospital), they all know how formidable Sasori can be with work ethics. Plus, she's not ready to face the bombardment of questions.

Sakura reflected…

Nothing much happened. It's as if she's just going through her normal work day in the café. Though, Gaara's siblings were a bit… loud. They kept asking her questions whenever she passed by their table. They only stopped when Sasori came and shut them up when he checked up on them. She was grateful for Gaara though. The redhead just stayed in his seat and kept quiet. He let her do her work just as he promised Sasori that he won't bother her but there was that look deep in his eyes that almost made him look adorable but it gnawed in her chest whenever she saw it. He looked pleading and sorry. Like he wanted to talk to her and she does too but both of them knew better than to disobey the Puppet Master in his territory.

Later that afternoon however, his siblings had to excuse themselves because they had something to do. They offered Gaara to come along but he remained firm and stayed there rooted on his seat. Naruto took this as his cue though. The moment the two went out of the café, Naruto went over his table and sat at the seat across him.

The blonde stared at the redhead critically, his eyes squinting and his pressed mouth moved in different directions like he's in deep concentration. Gaara, however, for the first few minutes, stared back and observed the blonde as well… that is, until the minutes ticked by and then he ignored… until eventually, the sleeve of his shirt became too wrinkled because of how much he's trying to compose himself and not blow his lid because of his discomfort.

As much as he wanted to yell at him, Gaara knew who he is and the only thing holding him back is that he doesn't want to offend Sakura any more than what he's already done.

" _So you're Gaara, huh?" Naruto finally said, giving him a wide, toothy grin._

' _Figured that out on your own, Sherlock?_ _' was what he wanted to say but he composed himself. Taking a deep breath and said something different "Yes"_

 _Naruto 'hmm'-ed "I can see why Sakura got her eyes on you. You don't look bad" his grin went wider "You're not as handsome as me though!"_

 _Gaara felt his heart flutter at the thought of Sakura liking him but Naruto had to ruin it with his last sentence, earning him a scowl._

" _And you are correspondingly conceited as her depiction articulates"_

" _Talk normally man! I'm not a walking dictionary like Sakura" Naruto pouted but he flashed his smile back on "but I see Sakura's talked about me, huh?" he appeared smug "Can't help it since she has an awesome and not to mention cool and handsome childhood friend like me!"_

 _Gaara stopped the urge to roll his eyes._

" _I told you he's arrogant" that sweet voice caught him off guard as he quickly turned his head to face the pinkette, who was giving them a sweet smile. He fought the rise of blood building up on his cheeks. Naruto whined in response. Sakura giggled. "So, you boys want anything for lunch?"_

* * *

"So he really did wait for you"

Sakura turned her head to see amusement in Sasori's eyes. She followed his gaze and it landed on the redhead who stood outside, his back turned to them. The pinkette kept herself from blushing because of the sweet gesture. Admittedly, she didn't expect him to wait that long for her.

Earlier in the afternoon, Naruto left saying that he's heading back to their apartment because he needs some of his notes before promising Sakura that he'll study. He does have his finals on Tuesday and though Sakura has been studying her notes since last month for her exams- and not that she doesn't have faith on Naruto in his studies (sometimes), she'd like to keep an eye on him.

In the end, she let him go and promised that she'd call if she needs a ride home... which, won't seem to happen tonight.

Bidding Sasori a goodnight with a peck on the cheek, she stepped out of the café and faced the redhead.

Their exchange was silent. Neither spoke a word and each kept their eyes on the other's. It's pretty awkward and deep down, they both wanted to say something to ease the tension. They just don't know what to say.

Where should they start? _Hey, I'm finally glad to meet you; you didn't have to wait; I'm sorry about the water incident; Wanna go out sometimes-_

"Are you going to wait for Naruto to pick you up?"

Guess Gaara will settle for that.

Sakura blinked "Well, honestly, I don't want to disturb him- _**if**_ _he really_ _ **is**_ _studying_. Our apartment's not far from here anyway"

"Then can I walk you home?"

* * *

"You and Sasori are rather close" he commented, sparing a glance at the rosette beside him.

"Yeah well, not always" she sighed "He and I did get off on the wrong foot. Though, I admit it was my fault in the first place"

"I've heard" he said, "I was reading when he came home looking like he's ready to kill someone. I could've just ignored him but knowing him, he'll tear the entire house apart if I didn't stop him."

She smiled gratefully "Then I guess I owe you my life. If you didn't, I would've been dead" she took a deep breath, reminiscing the memory "I really was sorry back then. I didn't know it was his only chance to fully pay his grandmother's hospital bills"

"But still, if you didn't break Hiruko, the directors wouldn't have noticed him and give him that one-in-a-million chance. Now look where he is now, in just a few years he's been on every magazine and newspaper"

"Yeah but I really felt bad so I didn't refuse when he ordered me to work on his café. I mean, what if I did break Hiruko and those directors didn't notice him? He never would've gotten the chance so he won't be able to repay the hospital debt and I would've been six feet under by now"

"Don't say that and did you tell me things happen for a reason? Maybe it was…" he paused for a bit "fate" and he looked at her bright, green eyes as she looked back on his pale, jade ones. That is, until she suddenly smirked and laughed. "What's so funny?"

"It's just," she tried to speak between her laughter "It sounds so weird coming from you"

Brows furrowing, he pouted before snorting, which caused her to giggle more.

 **~0~**

They stopped by the door when they reached her apartment.

"Don't you want to come inside?"

He shook his head "It's late and I don't want to take much of your time" Knowing her, she'll definitely do some last minute reviews "You have a test tomorrow"

Sakura smiled and thought it sweet of him to remember. Guess that proves he really is Gaara from LoveNinja .com.

"Thank you, Gaara" she suddenly stopped, halfway turning the knob "You know, I'll _do_ come off early for the rest of the week. Maybe… between 1:00 to 2:30-ish?"

Hook, sink, and bait, she practically casted her lure and he immediately jumped at the opportunity.

"Lunch it is then"

* * *

"That went well" he plugged out the earphone on his ear after a few minutes since he heard farewells on the other end before carefully placing the device in his pocket.

"I never pegged you to be an eavesdropper, Sasori, un"

"Shut up Deidara" he spat at the blonde "I'm just being cautious"

Itachi rolled his eyes and though it didn't go unnoticed from the redhead, he chose to ignore it. Deidara, however, only smirked wider.

"Just relax man, you're acting like an old man with his daughter on a first date, un"

Sasori glared, "Just pipe down before I make you pay double on those shots"

The pyrotechnist only chuckled before chugging down on his cognac "By the way un, I know you just got back but since you're here, I might as well lay it out on ya, un. You know that some of my co-workers are from Suna, right? Well, apparently there's a big commotion going on in there un, and I heard two of them talking about it before I left-"

"Just spit it out already!" he almost bellowed

"Fine!" he threw his arms up in exasperation.

' _Fuck this guy and his impatience'_

"I'm not 100% certain but word says that the top guy in Suna is finally gonna kick the bucket, un"

Sasori blinked at that, squinting his eyes at the blonde, realizing that this topic is serious.

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently your cousin, Gaara's fucking old man, had a stroke and was sent to the hospital this morning, un"

* * *

 ***I don't know about universities in other countries but where I go, the grade of 1.00 is the highest and 5.00 is the lowest.**

 **FINALLY UPDATED! And I don't think I will be again for the next few weeks… or maybe months(?) depending on my schedule. Unfortunately, I was in a slump during the summer and now that school's out and I'm a Dental Proper, it's finally gonna be a no-nonsense mode for the next 4 years. I just want to prioritize this first. Sorry guys.**

 **But I'll still try my best to update, at least little by little. I hope this long chapter compensates it.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**10…**_

"ONE SIDE! COMING THROUGH!"

"HEY WATCH IT!"

 _ **8…**_

"MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!"

 _ **6…**_

"OIYAYAYAYA!"

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

"YOU ALMOST CRASHED INTO OUR PROJECT YOU SHITHEAD!"

"SORRY!"

 _ **3…**_

"MOVE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

 _ **2…**_

"ALMOST THERE!"

 _ **1..**_

"GWAHHHH!"

Naruto's body came flying through the door just as their professor, Iruka, was about to lock the door.

 _ **! 0 !**_ The school bell rang loudly, signaling the start of classes.

"Goal!" Sakura cheered, raising her hands up. She then looked back and snickered at Kiba- who was groaning and trying to pull his hair out of aggravation. "I win!" she said in her sing-song voice.

Kiba bitterly took out his wallet and tossed the pinkette a five-hundred "Bitch" he huffed and Sakura stuck her tongue out at him while still giggling. Behind him, Neji tapped his shoulder.

"I did bet that Haruno will win your bet, didn't I?" he drawled while he gestured his open palm to cough off his share of the bargain.

The latter paled and chucked the last of his money onto the Hyuuga's hand before grumbling curses on his side.

"I am not making a bet with you two again!"

Their middle aged professor could only sigh at his students before telling Naruto to go to his seat.

"Alright everyone, please keep away all your review materials. I don't want to see anything on your desks except your scientific calculator, pencil, eraser, and pen. I will provide you an empty sheet to serve as your scratch paper. This exam is worth 150 points. Since we're _Zero-based_ , the passing score is 113. Those who are on the edge of failing this subject, you know who you are and this is your last chance. Everybody, do your best and I wish you all a happy summer vacation"

* * *

"What's with him?" Ino pointed a perfectly manicured nail at Naruto's slumped form on the table beside her best girl friend- who was counting a few leaves of money by hundreds with a wicked grin on her face. "Did you go gambling again?!"

Sakura tucked her wallet safely on a secret compartment in her bag before replying, her grin not leaving her face. "Ino! How could you?" she feigned a mock hurt expression "You know I'd never do that!" The blonde scoffed, flipping her bangs. Sakura only giggled before continuing "I wasn't out with Tsunade, that's for sure. You know that I was managing the café. As for the dough, well, I didn't know that betting with Kiba about Naruto making it to his Psychics exam is considered gambling"

"Well he just sunk into a whole new level of stupid if he actually bet that much with you" she crossed her arms.

"On me and Neji actually" Sakura shrugged "He got cocky" then turned to look at her brother "Besides, it wouldn't be just me and his mom who's gonna skin him alive if he ever failed a single subject. We actually gave Mr. Hyuuga the a-okay to mount his hide on top of their fireplace"

She smiled innocently with her thumb up while Naruto whined.

Ino laughed at that "I'm feeling sorry for Hinata right now, if that happens. Poor girl's gonna avoid their living room like the plague!"

Sakura laughed with her.

"I ran all the way and had to do the exam right afterwards! I'm totally drained! Thanks for the support. You guys are just the best" Naruto grumbled sarcastically and Sakura petted his head in response, chuckling a bit more.

Then someone came up to their table.

"Hey guys!"

"Oh hey Mitsuki"

"Hey there Mitsuki"

"…hi M'ski"

The 3rd year representative shook her head at Naruto.

"What's up, Mitsuki?" Sakura inquired at her senior.

"Just reminding you all to not forget about my end of school party after finals this Saturday. I'll be there with my boyfriend- of course! It's a plus one so Ino, you can bring Sai. I already invited Hinata earlier so I bet she'll be bringing you, Naruto and Sakura you can bring…" Mitsuki trailed a bit "yourself!" she giggled before sprinting off "I'll see you guys there!"

"Mitsuki's a nice person and all but…" Sakura started before turning to her blonde friends "I don't know if she's just so innocent or she's literally rubbing it on my face that I don't have a boyfriend"

Ino pursed her lips "Well, you did attended her last two parties without one"

Sakura shrugged "So? I was in a phase"

"Yeah, a pretty _long_ phase" then Ino perked up "Which reminds me. Don't think I forgot about your little friend, Gaara. You still haven't told me the entire story on that"

"Well, it's kind of a long story" the pinkette shifted her eyes sheepishly.

"Oh please" Ino rolled her eyes "I'm all ears girl, spill"

"Well I… we- uhmm…" gosh she sounds like Hinata. She fiddled with her thumbs, feeling heat rise to her cheeks "We actually met yesterday"

To say that Ino's surprised was an understatement. If it weren't for the fact that they're a few feet away from the faculty room then she would've shook the entire campus with her squeal.

"Oh no you didn't!" Sakura only smiled at her awkwardly. "Well what does he look like?" if it was possible, her face showed a hundred shades of red. Ino gaped "Oh no… I know that face… Don't tell me… he's hot isn't he? As in _hot_ hot?"

"Better. He's hotter than **hot** _hot_ hot"

"Oh my gosh! you landed on a gold mine?! You little bitch!" Ino squealed and Sakura only laughed "Well don't just sit there! Tell me everything!"

However, the alarm on Sakura's cell phone rang.

"You know I'd love to Ino but I should get going for my next exam and I don't want to get stuck waiting in line for the elevator" she picked up her bad and rose up.

"Ohhhh!" Ino stomped her foot under the table, fuming "You and your cliffhangers! I hate you!"

"Sorry" Sakura smiled apologetically before bending a bit to kiss Naruto's head "You'll make sure that he gets to your next class, right? Oh and it's okay, you don't have to pick me up later Naruto"

The blonde grumbled in response.

"Yeah, yeah" she waved, standing up as well. "But don't think you're off the hook, missy!"

Sakura giggled "Thanks Ino" the two friends pressed their cheeks together before the pinkette went off "I'll see you guys later!"

Ino turned her head to the other blonde and cracked her knuckles together. "I may not be as strong as Sakura but your sister just left me hanging so unless you want to be my personal punching bag for the rest of the day, I suggest you get up right now, Namikaze"

With that, Naruto's feet sprung up and he even carried Ino's bag for extra precaution.

* * *

Sakura stretched her arms up, letting out a relieved sigh as she walked down the hall.

' _That's two exams down. Three more to go'_ she said in her mind then noticed a long line of giggling and whispering girls looking out the window. ' _I wonder what's going on?_ ' then at a distance, she saw one of her friends.

"Hey Tenten!" she waved and the girl greeted her, pressing their cheeks together "How'd your exams go?"

"I think I did pretty well" she smiled "Knowing you, you probably aced it all"

Sakura only smiled and laughed a bit "So what's with the paparazzi?"

"Take a look yourself" she motioned for the window and Sakura immediately spotted the source of the university's female population's eye candy.

He was at the gates, wearing a plain dark shirt and pants while leaning against a red, shining, Lamborghini. Even at this distance, his rippling muscles could clearly be seen under his shirt and that red blood hair and coal rimmed eyes are too easy not to miss.

"His aura screams naughty, badass, don't-touch-me-I-bite, and he's-"

"A walking sex on two legs with steroids"

Enter Ino with the tip of her tongue licking on her lower lip.

Tenten giggled "Down, girl. Wouldn't want Sai to get all jealous"

"Oh I'd never cheat on my baby Sai!" she said dreamily "But I can't help it, and even you can't deny a rare specimen when you see one. After all, old habits die hard" she giggled before turning to Sakura "And you girl still owe me something!"

Again, Sakura smiled apologetically at the blonde "Sorry Ino but I'm afraid I'm still gonna leave you hanging. I have an appointment and my ride's already here"

"What?! Where?! You told Naruto that he doesn't need to pick you up"

"I never said it was Naruto"

"Sasori?"

"No, he's busy"

"Then who?"

"You were ogling him a few seconds ago"

* * *

Gaara took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air of the trees around the prestigious academy around him. Its been a while since he last came to Konoha University. He used to make deliveries here before he got a stable job at the beach. Deidara would sometimes drag him here too whenever the school's going to have an event. He's not a big expert in pyrotechnics as Deidara but he knows enough about fireworks from the blonde to lend a hand. Besides, it comes with extra pay so who's he to complain?

He's not oblivious to the stares he's receiving. Mostly from women and… some men. The guards at the gate gave him a wary eye though. They're well aware about him and his reputation. It's all thanks to the senior guards who knew him well enough to let him in.

The redhead stopped and looked up at a bulletin board. Most of the papers pinned about newspaper headlines, club activities and such were cleared off and now most of them were about school announcements and lists of people who passed, failed on their tests, schedules and requirements were boringly pinned instead.

' _They put up a list of those who failed? That must embarrassing_ ' he shook his head on the names printed in furious red. He skimmed over some and saw interestingly a list with the title,

 _ **World History Finals Examination Results:**_

 _ **(Subject Code: HDI 211)**_

 _ **(Class Section: ECF)**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **5**_ _ **th**_ _ **: Naruto Namikaze - 95/100**_

He snorted, the corner of his lips twitched a bit in praise. Then his eyes landed on another list. This one is longer and the top ten were printed on special paper with the rank one printed in gold color.

 _ **Anatomy and Physiology (Lecture & Laboratory) **_

_**Finals Examination Results:**_

 _ **(Subject Code: MAP 211/212)**_

 _ **(Class/es: MCA – MCI)**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **(LECTURE)**_

 _ **1**_ _ **st**_ _ **: Sakura Haruno (MCA) – 200/200**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **(LABORATORY)**_

 _ **1**_ _ **st**_ _ **: Sakura Haruno (MCA) – 250/250**_

' _Sakura did mention that she had an early exam last week in one of her messages… and to think we stayed up almost every night since we first talked…_ ' Gaara felt a twinge of guilt for keeping her from focusing on her studies but somehow, he felt a stronger sense of pride well up in his chest.

"Hey there"

Ahh, and the angel has descended to grace him her presence- how poetic. Gaara turned and gave her his best smile- which was nothing but the corners of his lips curled up a bit, but a smile nonetheless. Sakura's smile widened and her green eyes looked at where he was staring a few moments ago. A cute shade of pink crossed her cheeks.

"Not to brag but," she looked back at him with a haughty smirk, her cheeks still stained in pink "Both exams were a piece of chocolate cake"

Gaara snorted. The people who were eyeing him earlier are now whispering about them in the background but both of them couldn't care less. He offered his hand for her bag.

"Are you finished for today?" he asked, swinging her bag over his shoulder.

"Mmhmm" she nodded, following his lead "That's two exams down and three more to go. Then there's my exam on Wednesday and for Thursday and Friday, I'll be at the hospital doing some last minute work my mentor probably piled up for me"

Gaara nodded and they stopped in front of the red Lamborghini.

"You never told me you have a car" she smirked at him.

The redhead shrugged "It was a gift from Sasori last year. I rarely use it. Catches too much attention. I only use it on special occasions"

Sakura quirked a brow at him "And going to lunch is a special occasion?"

"Of course. But not because we're going to lunch" he said without hesitation and gingerly opened the door to the passenger seat.

"It's because I can finally spend time with you."

* * *

" _ **-Okay, I called him, right? And then he said 'Hello' and then I said, 'I-Is this Shakeys Pizza?' and in the cutest way he said 'No…'"**_ Ino could barely hold the squeal from the other end of the line _**"And then he hung up. Girl, it was magical!"**_

Meanwhile, Sakura could only shake her head while she listens to Ino tell her the things she did for Sai to notice her. They were just talking how Sakura's lunch date went with Gaara and how the story shifted to this makes Sakura wonder.

"And then Naruto said, in the cutest way, get off the phone, and she did; and it was so magical~!" Nartuo mimicked Ino in a high pitched voice. Sakura just stared back at the blonde who's sitting on a bean bag in front of the coffee table- which was littered with their notes.

The pinkette was talking to Ino with the speaker on and he let them despite the fact that he's 'actually' studying for his exams tomorrow because he also wanted to know how his sister's lunch went with her online match. As far as he can tell from all the giggling and blushing Sakura did, lunch went smoothly and no complaints about the redhead so far. He, too, felt that he's going to be good for Sakura when he talked to him yesterday. Naruto didn't mind at first but then when the topic shifted into, in men's terms, 'Women's talks', he couldn't handle it anymore.

Now Naruto may not be the best, academic-wise unlike his sister but if he wants to impress Hinata's parents and not disappoint his parents and childhood best friend, then he's welcome to change- which started when they were in senior high school. That's why since then, Sakura and Naruto always study together.

"Apparently, Naruto's right. Sorry Ino, love to stay and chat more but we still have exams tomorrow and I still have to do some last minutes changes for my defense on Wednesday"

Ino pouted in the other end, "Fine, you already told me the story anyway. Sooo I guess you're off the hook" she giggled "I'm glad that you've finally moved on, forehead. I think this Gaara guy is the one for you"

"Thanks Ino. Now get off the phone and stick your noses on those rainbow notes of yours, pig"

After hanging up, Sakura went to the kitchen first to brew their first batch of hot chocolate before sitting on the bean bag opposite of Naruto, who was giving her a small smile. It doesn't need a genius to know that he's happy about her and Gaara too.

"Come on Naruto, let's see if you finally mastered the difference between Declarative and Non-declarative memory"

* * *

"Somebody's in a good mood, un" Deidara smirked, staring at the sand artist who just sold another bottle of sand art to a couple of foreigners, while he's perched on the counter, swinging his feet off the edge.

"What gave it away?" Gaara said nonchalantly, organizing the money neatly in the cash register.

"Oh I don't know, un" he shrugged "Maybe because you just finished seven commissioned sand arts in less than two hours, un" the redhead just shrugged "Either because you ate some food for the gods for lunch or…" the blonde leaned in with a sly smile "A medic-student, pink-haired, green-eyed, college babe fed it all to you, un?"

Gaara's eye twitched upon hearing Deidara's term in addressing Sakura. The blonde most definitely heard the story from Sasori- though he doubted his cousin will gossip about him to his friend, Sasori most likely just told him bits and pieces and he probably got the details from other sources- example being his cousin. Ino, was it? Which coincidentally, is Sakura's other blonde best girl friend. Then he learned that Sakura's already affiliated with the other members of Sasori's peers.

He sighed, if he ever doubted the phrase ' _ **It's a small world, after all'**_ ; then he certainly changed his mind.

"Please do not address her as such. You know her name as well as I do and… she did not fed _all_ my food to me"

At that, Deidara laughed so hard he clutched his stomach and tears formed in the corner of his eyes. Pissed, Gaara deliberately pushed the pyrotechnic off the counter and he landed outside on the beach sand but he continued laughing.

The redhead was about to bury him in sand before he saw an all too familiar Mustang park itself on the VIP's parking lot overhead. True enough, his cousin emerged and wasted no time and approached the two of them.

Deidara was catching his breath when he neared. "Hey danna!"

Gaara gave him a light nod and he returned it before removing his sunglasses and shove them in his pocket.

"Get up, Deidara. You got sand all over your uniform" which was nothing more than a sunset-themed, floral-printed, open-buttoned beach shirt with the resort's logo at the back along with a tribal bicep bracelet on their right arms.

"Something you need, Sasori?" Gaara asked.

"Yes" the red scorpion turned to Deidara, who just finished dusting himself off from sand "Tell your manager that I want to speak to the owner. Now"

"Sure thing, danna!" because he got a good laugh, Deidara obeyed him without a beat.

When he went off, Gaara turned to his cousin who took it upon himself to lean on his bamboo booth and enjoy the silent breeze of from the ocean.

"What do you want to see the owner for?" he knows that his cousin can just march into the manager's office whenever he wishes.

"I want him to make preparations for a party next week"

"A party? You?"

"Not for me, of course" he turned his gaze to the younger redhead "For my favorite doll"

Again, his eye twitched. If he didn't have enough respect for his cousin then wouldn't hesitate to push him face first in the sand and bury him alive. Just what is it with these people calling Sakura such names?

"For what?"

"So she could have a party with her friends once her finals is over. I have great confidence that she will not lose the challenge I proposed to her. I trust that you won't spoil the surprise?"

"Never. Why a beach party though?"

Sasori shrugged "She and her friends were considering it a few months ago. Consider it as another farewell gift for her before she goes home"

Gaara blinked at that "Go home? What do you mean?" he didn't realize the tone of urgency in his voice as he impatiently waited for his cousin to answer.

"You don't know? Sakura, Namikaze, and some of her friends are really from Central. They just moved here for the university. She goes back every year to catch up with her family"

' _Central? That's one flight away from here_ ' the youngest Sabaku lowered his head in realization "She did mention that she and her parents go and have trips every year"

"Yeah, sometimes with the Namikaze because both of their fathers are friends. They're frequent in Kumo"

Silence, and judging by the way he glared at the counter before him and by the way he clenched his fists, Sasori knew all too well what's going on inside his youngest cousin's head. Too bad he's not an expert in comforting.

"How unfortunate for you, huh, cousin? You just finally met her face to face"

He glared at the calm redhead "Do rub it on my face, cousin"

"Do you really mean that? Because I will"

Gaara only glared further at him in response and Sasori just scoffed and decided to change the topic.

"You probably heard what happened to in Suna"

Ahh yes, about the revered Kazekage, CEO of Shukaku Corporation. A large, airline and transportation company that holds the largest airline in all the nations along with some bullet trains and car manufacturers.

"It was all over the news" he grumbled. "He should just die for all I care" the venom in his voice was too toxic. It's a good thing that it's a slow day on the beach today or else he'll get another earful from his boss for scaring the customers.

"If he does, then it'll only be a matter of time before you get shipped back to your home"

"That place was never my home. Never has, never will" Gaara spat, growling under clenched teeth as he tried to control himself lest he destroy the booth. Memories of beatings, verbal, and psychological abuse flooded him like the plague. Taunting him, reminding him of the memories that he created for the first 13 years of his life. "And I doubt that. I swore to him on that day that I will cut ties with him. No longer will he have any right over me. I have never seen nor called him as my father and he never will be."

"You say that. But you do know that in the eyes of the law, you are still his biological son. After all, he never signed those papers" Sasori replied casually but in his mind, he's formulating his sentences carefully. Gaara is a berserker. Despite the years he maintained a low profile, he still has a short fuse and one wrong step could detonate the walking time bomb. He wouldn't want that _incident_ to happen again. At that thought, he felt an old wound sting and he subtly graced his hand over his stomach to calm it down.

"There's no point for me in going there anyway. Whether the law still sees it or not, I won't be mentioned in his goddamn will. I couldn't care less about inheritance. Temari or Kankuro can handle the company and they can just leave me be in peace. I'm already contented here and besides, to the company and to Suna, I no longer exist"

Sasori sighed, placing his hand back in his pocket, his eyes never left his cousin. "Is that really what you think?"

"What else?" Gaara squinted his eyes at him "I have no place there. It should be obvious that I don't even use the Sabaku name"

From the distance, Deidara shouted for Sasori, telling him that the owner's ready to talk to him. Sasori pushed himself off the booth but Gaara followed him one last question.

"Sasori, did you come here to deliberately tease me about these facts? About Sakura's yearly trip and about him?"

"If I was teasing you, I would've talked to you about your lunch with Sakura" then for the first time in their conversation, Sasori's face turned serious. An expression Gaara knows all too well, the kind that if he dares answer back, it better not be something stupid or else fear the consequences "I'm telling you all this, because I want you to start thinking carefully about what you should do." He turned to fully face his cousin

"I told you this before, right after that incident. That there will come a time, when I won't be there and I won't be able to tell you what you should do. I know you're already old, but you know what it means.

Time is always ticking, Gaara, I didn't teach you to be stupid. Make the most of it. Perhaps I may be telling you all this all too soon but I don't control what is going on. At least you know now what is coming ahead."

* * *

The following day flowed by just like that and like yesterday, Gaara picked Sakura up and both of them enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Things were going smoothly until Wednesday rolled by. Sakura waited for her turn and didn't mind her pale classmates who exited through the conference hall.

Maybe they were just nervous or that something wrong must have happened during their report.

However, after she prepared her presentation by the podium and waited for the people who will judge her performance, all of her haughty confidence shattered when the last person entered and took a seat in the middle.

Their professor did say that someone important will be guesting as another judge for their defense. But Sakura Haruno never expected it to be someone this important.

She now as understood why her classmates were so white they'd be mistaken as ghosts earlier.

However, being Sakura Haruno, personal student under the wing of the infamous Tsunade Senju, swallowed her fear and met dead on the eyes of the man greater than her mentor, Dr. Blackjack.

* * *

 **Finally an update and my internet SUCKS!**

 **Plus, I am in rage! I am NEVER -you read this?- NEVER, EVER going to the Naruto wikia EVER again!**

 **Why?! Because I learned that GAARA HAS TWO FUCKING SONS! FUCK YOU KISHIMOTO! I COULDN'T CARE LESS WHO THE MOTHER IS BECAUSE THOSE TWO EXISTING JUST LEFT A HUGE DENT ON MY SHIP! I don't care! I know I don't have the right to rant because by canon, Sakura ends up with Sasuke but still-!**

 **That sonovabitch!**

 **And because of that, out of rage, I will be making ANOTHER fanfic and this time it'll be all about Sakura and Gaara's kid! Canon be damned!**


	6. Chapter 6

11:43pm

She only meant to do some check-ups on Tsunade's patients before going home and probably sleep till noon tomorrow; unfortunately, she did not expect the twin towers that stood tauntingly on her small desk in Tsunade's office.

As much as she is grateful for Tsunade Senju, the best doctor second to Kuro Hazama, accepting her as her personal mentor in the medical field, she can't honestly say that she has no complaints. Needless to say, Tsunade is a brutal mentor. She knew it's going to be tough but now she understood why she doesn't accept any apprentices- or no one wanted to be her apprentice for that matter. Because her student has to pick up her slack- point being her paperwork that's due on the last minute and her debts in her bad habits in gambling and drinking.

" _Tsunade-shishou, I'm back" Sakura's greeting was only answered by silence as she walked into her master's kitchen in favor of getting some grocery items from her. Dropping the bags of groceries on the counter, she picked up a note lying innocently on the kitchen table._

 _Meet her at the Moonlight Howl, it says. She should have known that it was a pub. The moment she entered the bar, she was immediately surrounded by men and women alike who chorused their aggravation on her blonde teacher._

And that was just one of many places.

This should be illegal- letting someone, much less a minor, deal with this kind of problems. When she told her parents about it, instead of reporting or showing concern, they **encouraged and cheered** her to go through with it.

"Sakura, sweet cakes, if you can pull through handling Tsunade's debts, you can do anything!"

The pinkette was honestly appalled at her father's words. Apparently, he and Tsunade were drinking buddies back when Tsunade was in Central. Much to Sakura's chagrin however, she had no choice but to go with it. She expected to be working in these bars though, maybe as a waitress or some sort but noooo. Unfortunately, Tsunade had to be in debt to some dangerous people and most of them don't like keeping their money waiting. So she had no choice but to do something illegal- gambling. Fortunately, Sakura seemed to have gift in it. With the help of Deidara- who she knew by proxy of Ino- who knew a guy, who knew a guy, who knew a guy… she managed to fabricate a fake ID with a fake age. No one suspected a thing because of how matured she held himself. With it, she managed to enter casinos to make some easy money.

Blackjack, Pai gow, Baccarat, Roulette, Craps, Slot Machines, and her favorite- Poker. She had to hone her skills and had to master all kinds of poker faces, from innocently clueless to a stoic cold face, and most of all, she had to learn to cheat. The first time she lost to a cheater, she lost all the money she worked for in two months. When she lost for a few more times in the same method, she'll have to beat them in their on game.

From then on, her false identity became known throughout the gambling and underground sector as the mistress of cards. Thanks to that, she became banned from half of the casinos in all of Konoha- afraid that they'll go bankrupt with all her straight wins. The only ones who knew of this are Naruto, Ino, her father, and Sasori (the reason she met Sasori was when she had to pay back the debt on the art dealer who organized a contest a few years back. due to her clumsiness, she broke Sasori's entry before he could even enter the contest hall. In return, Sakura begged the art dealer to give Sasori a chance, even going as far as letting her pay the cost. The following day after that, she received a letter, and on the biggest art gallery of Konoha, Sasori made his debut by making a live sculpture of the Otsutsuki siblings, Hagoromo, Hamura, and Haneko Otsutsuki)

She had every intention of finishing all those paperwork today so that the only job she has left for tomorrow is to do one last check on the patients, bidding them all goodbye before going back home- then blinked.

Now that she realized it, does that mean she won't be seeing Gaara anymore before the next semester?

* * *

Sakura bid goodnight to Shizune, the head nurse and all the other doctors and nurses as she made her way out to the hospital lobby. She was expecting her blonde brother waiting for her though, not her dating-site-match though.

"Naruto was spontaneously invited by his girlfriend for a special event. He is sorry that he can't pick you up" he says as she approached, silently eyeing her uniform for medical students with much approval.

The pinkette sighs, she's happy that he's spending time with Hinata (he needs to go a long way before he could impress any of his girlfriend's relatives- being a prestigious family and all despite being a member of an ancestral family himself).

"Why didn't he call me?" she asks after giving him her bag which he silently offered.

"He did. But unfortunately, he was unable to contact you"

A bulb went off her head when realized why. She was actually in an underground pub to make some quick cash thanks to another debt ticket Tsunade left for her on the table earlier this afternoon. Despite this fact, she is not abusive or an addict in this illegal business. In fact, she avoids it as much as possible but she can only do so much being just a student and all. Besides, as Tsunade says in one of her drunken rambles, this is her way to pay Tsunade for teaching her personally. Which makes sense since Tsunade is highly demanded despite being frowned upon for her bad habits.

"I didn't give him your number…" she wonders aloud "How was he able to contact you?"

Gaara tilted his head to the side, "I was hoping you could answer that. I was making more bottle arts when he called"

"I swear I didn't give him your number" she sighs, "Well, Naruto can be as crafty as a fox if he wants- wait did you say he called you while you were working?! How long have you been waiting?!"

Blinking slowly, "Long enough"

At that, Sakura pouted, staring at him squarely in the eye to give up his true answer. However, when it seemed that he won't be doing that anytime soon, she whips her head to the lobby's receptionist. Knowing that her outburst was enough for the entire hospital to hear, which she mentally cringed and apologized for that.

The middle-aged woman only smiled at them sweetly before bringing up her hand. Five fingers followed by her mouth pronouncing the word 'hours'.

Whipping her head back to the redhead, she frowned.

"You waited since six o'clock?!"

"Six-thirty, to be exact" he corrected her.

"Oh Gaara, you didn't have to. Did Naruto told you to pick me up?!"

"No. He only wanted me to deliver his message"

"You could have at least send me a text" Sakura groaned

He shook his head, "It was my decision to wait for you. I want to take you home"

Her emerald eyes widened at that. Did he seriously just say that? Too late, heat immediately spread all over her cheeks at his bold statement. His sincerity pierced through her heart. She's heard that line before but it felt so different when it's said by someone with such sincerity… especially by someone who-

Sakura clears her throat to regain her bearings. With a small blush on her cheeks, she meekly looks up, "Did you at least eat dinner while you were waiting?"

Shaking his head no, Gaara and Sakura went their way back to her apartment.

The way back… it was nice though. It felt really nice. Gaara did not bring his car this time since the last time he brought it when he took her out to lunch. Needless to say there were papers etched with numbers stuck between his window wipers. Neither liked it though. He only used the car to impress Sakura, showing her that even though he's not as financially as wealthy as his cousin, he still has some things to show off (though he did get the car from Sasori… so does that count?). They didn't complain though, both enjoyed walking while talking about random topics. It was a nice breath of fresh air.

Taking the bus, Gaara knew that she will be very tired so he coaxed her to sleep and promised to wake her up when they're close. Sakura fully trusted him though. She's heard a lot of people giving off warnings about people they met online, especially when they meet together face to face. She's heeded these words of course. But she and Gaara… they got along so well together despite the short amount of time they talked together online. There's also the fact that they totally hit it off when they were both willing to forget the entire water and bag-switching accident. Anyone who passed by and saw them for the first time can vouch that she and Gaara are as close as best friends- sometimes even lovers for anyone observant enough to notice the way Gaara looks at Sakura. Its as if there was never a computer screen splitting them from each other the whole time.

Gaara let Sakura's head fall comfortably on his shoulder for a well-earned rest. Making sure she's comfortable enough and keeping a cautious eye on anything that might disturb her. After all, no matter how flawless her academic record is, Sakura Haruno is not perfect. He knew as much by observing her. Gaara knew no one else who is willing to diligently study everything her course offers before it could even be taught to them. he knew no one who is willing to beg an world-renowned surgeon despite her easy connections through her father. She works hard, she gives it her all, and she's very passionate in what she is doing. And for that, she earned his undoubted respect.

He knew she still has secrets yet to know about her, and he too has secrets yet to tell her as well. Because of his past, it wouldn't be surprising if Gaara had a very hard time trusting anyone. People will either be beaten or completely ignored no matter how hard they try. Not even the time he spent with the Akasuna did he even take a step anywhere near them unless its time to eat. That was until he got into trouble with someone even he shouldn't have messed with.

Gaara could still remember it like it was yesterday. It was a dark and rainy night on an abandoned warehouse. Outnumbered at least more than thirty against one, he didn't mind though. They started it first. He's just paying with the same charge. That battle ignited all of his bottled frustration, anger, and sadness to the point he proved them just how he got his title as the Raging Raccoon in the first place. However, no matter how beaten up the people around him were, he didn't stop. Couldn't stop. All those years of abuse and betrayal finally took his toll on him. After all, no matter how he is, he is still just a boy.

 _His rage only ended when he received a solid punch to the face. Gaara remembers looking up to see his eldest cousin looking down at him, a trail of blood flowing down the corner of his lip. No mirth, no anger, no betrayal…. just genuine concern painted his features. It was then when he took notice how wet his hand was. For the second time in his life, horror struck him as he stared at the pocket knife he's holding buried all the way to Sasori's stomach._

 _A hand clasped on his shoulder assuringly as young Gaara stared back in shock. How could he have been so blinded by anger so much to come to this?_

" _Let's go home, Gaara" that was the first time Sasori addressed him with his name. "The old hag made hotpot…" more blood oozed from his mouth and stomach "It's perfect for a rainy day… we shouldn't… keep… her… wai... ting…"_

 _Gaara's eyes freely flowed as he desperately carried his unconscious cousin to the hospital, adrenaline making it possible for him to carry him all the way._

Since then, the redhead resolved to change. If it not have been for him, he might still be behind bars, never would have found his talent, never would have made amends with his siblings, never would have apologized and thanked the Akasuna for all they have done, never would have had a contented and satisfying job at the beach, never have witnessed Sasori's rise to fame, and… he never would have met Sakura.

The apartment was empty as expected. Though he was honestly perplexed at the amount of trust Naruto gave him (trusting him enough to actually call him and not their other friends to contact Sakura for him), he doesn't complain. Gaara insisted Sakura to change and shower while he makes her something quick to eat before she sleeps.

"If it is alright, may I use what was left of these ingredients?" he pointed at the leftover ingredients in the refrigerator.

Sakura tilted her head, she was planning on just restocking them to make a full meal but for now, she doesn't seem to mind.

After agreeing to let him do what he wants, Sakura took her time in the shower. If she used the tub, she'll fall asleep. The pinkette relished the flowing warm water on her skin, it's always so refreshing to take have a nice, long, warm bath after a good days work. Just as she rinsed off her hair and body off of suds, that's when logic screamed in her head.

Sakura Haruno just realized the trouble she got herself into. She brought guy home. And not just any guy, mind you, this guy is a person she only met online, is in her kitchen cooking something for dinner, and has a terrible reputation of having a violent, horrifying temper. It all sounds so ironic and debatable having these thoughts when she just let herself take a nap on his- wait, now that she thought about it… weren't she just sleeping on his shoulder a few minutes ago?!

Embarrassed, Sakura hurriedly put on her clothes after drying before making a dash to the living room. Once she set foot however, she was immediately greeted by something sweet and juicy lingering in the air. The smell the fresh meat and sound of something crispy sizzling on a pan made her mouth water and stomach rumble. She hadn't realized that she was under the kitchen's archway until the redhead addressed her.

"Good, you're here" he says "Take a seat, I'm almost done"

Obeying, she let herself drown in the sweet aroma until the source of her mouth watering and begging stomach was laid presented before her. It was a simple piece of hamburger steak soaked with its own juices, a small bowl of egg soup lay on her right and a cup of rice to her left. Gaara took the liberty to sit across her with the same meal set as she stared at the piece of meat. It was amazing how it didn't show a speck of ground beef- molded perfectly by hand.

"I would like to apologize for using one of your canned mackerel" he bows slightly.

Flustered, she waved her hands up, "No, no! It's alright Gaara! No big deal" she sighs in relief as he brought his face back up. "I'm surprised though, you never said that you know how to cook"

"I only know a bit" he says meekly "It is necessary since I live alone and when Sasori's grandmother fell ill, he and I were left to feed for ourselves"

She nodded, "That makes sense" when she looked up, she saw him staring at her almost eagerly. Realizing what he could be waiting for, Sakura giggled before taking a piece of the steak. She has never heard of a hamburger made out of canned mackerel though. The pinkette went absolutely still when she felt the flavor flow through every taste bud, tingling every taste receptor in her mouth.

"How was it?"

It took a while for her to answer and for a moment, he was afraid that she did not like it. However, when she finally looked up and smiled so happily at him, he felt his heart flutter and surge with warmth.

"It's absolutely delicious!"

3089q4

He meant to go home after dinner. She reasoned that its very late and that he should at least spend the night.

He meant to wash the dishes for her. She literally threw him in the guest's bathroom (she and Naruto have their own bathrooms in their own rooms) to let him freshen up.

He meant to sleep on the couch…

.

.

.

Gaara growled softly as his sensitive ears picked up the heavy padding on the floor. The sun has already risen minutes ago and she should be getting ready to work but he's just so tired and he slept at what? Three in the morning? Maybe he shouldn't attend work today. He's already finished the commissioned bottle arts so Deidara can handle the stand.

Deciding to ignore the approaching sound, he nuzzled his face deeper in his soft pillow. _My_ , his pillow feels extra soft today. And _my, oh my_ , did it smell good. His scent must have rubbed off on it. He did remember having a refreshing, relaxing shower before going to bed last night.

The sounds coming from outside got louder and louder, making him dive deeper in his soft pillow (he seriously does not want to deal with any of his siblings today). He isn't the type to pick favorites but he doesn't mind sleeping with this pillow every night. He felt something wrap around his head and something long and smooth around his hip. Maybe it was just the sheets tangled around him.

 _ **I got the fear of losing my hands while holding important things~ Even if you lost yourself alone in despair, be sure to believe~ I'll be waiting for you at this place anytime~ Be sure to have a dream to carry on~ Just live~ If you see the desired light among them~ Always believe forever~ Someday we can become stronger~ Let's live stronger to know love~**_

He hears the soft melody of one of his favorite songs sung by the Tribe of Gold. The beautiful song lulled him to sleep and just when he was about to immerse himself again in that wonderful slumber, the door to his room opened not-so-pleasantly.

"SAKURA! Are you still sleeping?! Come on get up! Hinata and I brought you break… fast…"

Snapping, Gaara's jade eyes glared daggers at the intruder of his peaceful sanctuary. As someone recovering from insomniac, this is the first time when both his body and mind begged him to sleep and he will not waste such a rare opportunity. Not even by Sakura's brother-like-childhood-friend who almost broke the hinges of his door-

Wait

Why is Naruto in his room?

"What are you doing in my room?"

Recovering from his shock, Naruto's face turned red with anger and… embarrassment?

"You asshole!" he pointed an accusing finger at him "How dare you do this to Sakura?!" he starts to march towards the bed "You piece of shit! I trusted you! I swear I'm going to rip all your limbs off-"

Do what? Was what he was going to ask until a pillow shot him straight to the face, the force was hard enough to make him fall flat on his back.

"NARUTO! What did I say about coming in my room?!" Gaara could only blink as he fit the pieces together. His entire body froze as her arm wrapped his head securely on her chest (which were barely concealed by her small tank top) while the arm she threw the pillow with curled into a fist as she kept on throwing threats at her childhood friend.

"I told you a thousand times to knock before you come in! is that so freaking hard to ask?!"

"I wouldn't mind that but how could you do this to me Sakura?!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! I was having a wonderful dream until you had to come in and ruin it!"

"Oh yeah?! Do tell! I bet its about Gaara, isn't it?!"

"H-How did you know?"

"I may be an idiot but I'm not stupid, Sakura! How could you sleep with that guy?!"

"I did NOT sleep with Gaara!"

"Then why is he shirtless and has his face glued to your tits?!"

If anything, her face burned ten times redder at Naruto's words, and it got worse when she finally took notice of the thing she held so closely while she slept, thinking that it was one of her stuffed animals.

"Good morning, Sakura" he managed to say politely while looking up at her own set of green orbs.

The pinkette could only stare back, feeling his lips over her thin tank top. There's also the fact that their legs were tangled under the sheets.

As if things wouldn't get any worse, Hinata, who stood silently by the open door to her room, fainted.

* * *

The beach's best sand artist rubs his temples in a circular motion, trying his best to rid himself of the growing headache that's been trying to form for the last few minutes. After what happened at Sakura's, he managed to get out unscathed. It took all of his self-control to remain calm while Naruto kept accusing him. It didn't help that Sakura seemed to be on a daze while helping a very, very flustered Hyuuga Hinata recover consciousness. Thankfully, divine interception happened. They were able to explain the Furious Fox what really happened and he believed them.

He arrived at work with a few seconds to spare.

"You don't look too well, un"

Oh great. Not another troublesome blondie.

"Not now, Deidara" he seethed and Deidara huffed.

"That's no way to speak to your _senpai_ , un! Don't forget that you owe me for covering for you yesterday! If you hadn't finished those bottles before you left, I swear the manager will force me to drag your ass back to work!"

The redhead sighs after a deep breath "I assure you, _senpai_. I was deeply appreciated"

Crossing his arms, he leaned over from where he sat, "Seriously un, I swear, you and Sasori-danna must have been twins in your previous lives. With your red hair and attitude, you piss me off the same as he pisses me off, un!"

"I'll take that as a compliment. However unlike Sasori, I have no desire of wanting to control the entire art industry"

"And in addition, Deidara, that I am surely not someone who sleeps with a girl who I barely even met for a month.

Both men nearly jumped at their sudden new audience who leaned casually on the counter while his gazed remained transfixed by at the ocean.

"Whoa, hold up. What are you talking about, un?"

He turns his head halfway to the younger redhead who was glaring daggers at him. Unfazed, Sasori wore a teasing grin as he answered, "Tell me, Gaara, did your sleep became so wonderful because of how comfortable the bed was? Or is it because of how wonderful Sakura was?"

Gaara could only glare more at his elder cousin, knowing that whether he agreed or deny it, it will only make his situation worse.

"How did you know that?"

"I was in the hospital visiting the old hag last night"

"So you followed us?"

Sasori snorted, "You know I will never stoop so low. However there are birds who are willing to sing that information to me. I doubt anyone missed it, considering how loud she was screaming this morning"

"WHAT?!"

Wide eyed and completely scandalized, Deidara's arm shot for the redhead's collar behind the counter. Butting foreheads with the surprised, younger redhead, Deidara spoke his words with all malice.

"Listen here you, Sakura is my baby cousin's best friend. If you dare make her do anything that she doesn't want, Sasori's cousin or not, I'll blow your body to bits! You damn raccoon!"

Gaara swore that he saw something flash in his mind of how these two will uphold their threat (he doesn't need to hear Sasori's warning though. Deidara spoke it for the both of them). He must've been killed by these two in one of his previous lives.

"Let him go Deidara. Rest assured that my favorite doll is still… untouched"

"You sure?"

"Positive"

With that, Deidara obediently released the redhead but not before giving him one last warning glare before sighing and his happy-go-lucky façade returned.

Sasori, still not satisfied with teasing his cousin, turns to the speechless redhead.

"So Gaara, do tell me, what do you plan to do before Sakura leaves for the summer?"

* * *

"Hey Sakura, did you get a call from your folks last night?" Naruto asks as the pinkette adjusts her white tube skirt.

"No, why?"

"Well, I did. Mom and dad said that they already set up plans on where we're going this summer"

"And where is that?"

He shrugs, "I dunno, they didn't say"

Sakura sighs, "I guess this means we should start packing? Have you told Hinata?"

"Yeah... I'm gonna miss her. What about you? Have you told him that we'll be leaving in two weeks?"

"…No, not yet"

"Bummer"

"I'll tell him later. He says he'll pick me up in the hospital later for lunch. Oh, and Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"My door better be fixed when I get home"

* * *

 **Rest assured, I have full intention to finish this fic.**

 **Thank you for the continued support**

 **Ciao~!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Hmph! I fall to bed for a few years and this is the kind of news I hear?"

"Good afternoon to you too, Granny Chiyo" Sakura smiled widely, undeterred and used to the old woman's manner of speech.

The old woman huffed before turning down the volume of the flat screen TV of her private hospital room. Having a millionaire grandson has its perks. As a moment of familiarity, she gave her a hug to which the gray-haired woman reciprocated with a secretive smile.

"Ebizo-jii!" she greeted the old man sitting next to her and gave him a hug as well. "It's been so long. When did you get here?"

"I just arrived. How are you, Sakura?"

"Still the same ol' girl, Ebizo-jii" she smiled, setting her sphygmomanometer beside Chiyo before instructing her to lie down.

"I was hoping that my grand-nephew would come in with you today. I heard he came back from a seminar not too long ago. I hope he's been taking good care of you"

"Don't worry Ebizo-jii, Sasori's been a good boy- just, don't tell him I said that" She giggled after taking notes of Chiyo's blood pressure, heart and pulse rates. "Oh! But I think he'll come around in an hour or so, if you'd like to wait"

The old man chuckled. He has only heard about the (as Chiyo would say) cute pink-haired girl who caused Sasori's mishap at the gallery a few years ago. The first time they actually met was just like this, him visiting his sister at the hospital and Sakura coming in to check up on her as a nurse-in-training under Tsunade's wing herself. He had grown fonder of her when he learned that she volunteered to be his stubborn sister's nurse.

Even though Chiyo's condition had improved since her collapse, the old woman had to stay for her maintenance with her other conditions.

A knock came from the door just as Sakura finished her tests and in came two redheads, one of them surprised to see the pinkette while the other only looked incredulous with a basket of bread in hand.

"Gaara! Sasori!" Sakura greeted, "Here to visit Granny Chiyo? I never knew that you two visit her together"

They looked at one another, "We don't" Gaara vouched.

"We bumped into each other on the way" Sasori added, shrugging as we walked over to the old siblings. "Glad to see you still kicking, old hag. You too Ebizo-jii, it's been a while" Gaara bowed to them as his own greeting.

"You're not cute at all, you little scamp, little runt, the both of you!" Chiyo huffed, crossing her arms while her brother returned the greeting.

"I try" the older redhead said boredly.

Sakura though, just smiled at them. If she didn't know that this is common with the Akasuna family, then she would've grown concerned and would've probably scolded the artist for his lack of manners.

"Sakura" she turns her attention to the younger redhead she's grown so close with for the last few days. One thing they learned since they started having lunch and him walking her home, is their keen communication with the other. They didn't have to say things outwardly and can easily read the condition of the other. It helped since Gaara doesn't talk much when they're not alone and Sakura didn't mind.

Reading his silent question, Sakura smiled at him, not knowing how that simple act affected him.

"I'll be done in an hour or two"

Gaara nodded. "I will wait for you in the lobby"

Excusing herself, Sakura went off to check on the other patients.

"The original plan was for Sasori but I guess you'll have to do, Gaara" Chiyo smirked, earning her their attentions. "Hope I'll still be alive to see those pink-haired babies running around"

Sasori sighed, leaning back lazily on the couch. "Gaara didn't have to know that, grandma"

Chiyo just ignored him though, "So, since when did you laid your eyes on that girl, little runt?"

"I met her on an online dating website" he shrugged, taking the other end of the couch. When he sat, he saw the old siblings' questioning gazes and added, "Kankuro made me do it… I'm glad I did though" being with the few people he trusted, he didn't mind letting his features soften for them to see.

"Don't start getting all mushy now, Gaara" Sasori commented, opening the basket to take a piece of spicy pizza bread. Gaara, knowing full well who baked those bread (and most of the pastries in his café), grabbed a piece of chocolate cream cheese. "You'll give them a heart attack"

Rolling his eyes, Gaara ignored the older redhead's tease as they continued to munch on their bread.

"Though I'm glad that you came by too, Gaara" Ebizo began, turning to his grandnephew. "At least, it saves the time of why I also came here to visit"

The tension immediately shifted at that, and the said redhead reflexively balled his fists on his lap. He was never comfortable of this conversation. They know that. Aside from his siblings and the Akasuna family, he had no intention of acknowledging anybody else in his family tree as part of his family. Regardless of blood, especially that man who's most likely lying on his death bed in Suna by now.

Sasori eyed his youngest cousin carefully.

"You have to go back to Suna, Gaara"

"Why should I?" the young redhead did his best to hold back the pent up anger. Though his expression was menacing, he did his best to at least keep his voice polite to his elders. Sasori taught him better than that. "I'm not a Sabaku anymore. I was never one in the first place and it's not like I'm in his goddamn will anyway"

"Well, that's the point… your name _is_ in the will" that earned a rather shocked and suspicious face from the two redheads. "More specifically, your mother's will"

"Aunt Karura? How?" Sasori pondered, considering the timeline, his aunt wouldn't have had the opportunity to even know Gaara since she died the moment the young redhead was born. Also, how come they've never heard of her will until now?

"My mother?"

Ebizo looked at them apologetically before turning to his sister, to which the old woman sighed deeply, bracing herself at the revelation coming from her lips.

* * *

"Hey Gaara!" Sakura's smile immediately dropped. Instead, she felt a pang of fear and great concern at the redhead's face.

She can't quite explain it. He looked like… he was ready to kill.

As if sensing her presence, Gaara snapped and immediately stood to meet the pinkette and Sakura can't help but frown at the fake demeanor he wore on his face. Looks like Tsunade's personal psychology lessons were paying off.

"Did I… make you wait long?" she didn't know what else to say.

He shook his head almost immediately, "Its fine" he offered his hand and she let him take her bag. "Let's go?"

Gaara didn't wait for her response as he made his way out of the hospital doors, Sakura following suit. They were just by the entrance when Sakura decided that she couldn't handle the tension anymore. When something like this happened, she would usually just keep quiet or try her best to cheer him up with a different distraction. Sasori hinted to her before that it has something to do with his family but he didn't say anything more than that and she respected their privacy.

But this one is different. She has never seen Gaara so… distraught before… They both have sensitive topics that they can't easily discuss even between them and they respected that. They agreed that they would never push the other until they are ready to share, Gaara with his family, and Sakura with her ex.

A pair of lithe hands stopped Gaara from stepping out into the sun, turning around, he saw the girl that captivated him with eyes filled with concern. And he hated himself for knowing that he's probably the cause of it.

"Sakura…"

"Gaara, I know you're not comfortable with this and I'm not forcing you but please… is there anything I can do for you?"

He swallowed a lump in his throat. Stunned and utterly touched at her offer. No one was willing to cheer him up before. His siblings were either too afraid or weren't present to try and Sasori's very lousy at it- his idea of comfort is pushing him to stand on his own feet rather than lending a hand. He appreciated the gesture and he'll never admit it aloud but he needed real comfort too…

Gaara really wanted to hug her right now.

"Would you like to come back to my place, Sakura?"

 **~0~**

"Wow…" were the only sensible words the pinkette could formulate as she took in the redhead's apartment.

It was huge!

Bigger than her shared apartment with Naruto. Though she had a suspicion when they walked through the area reserved for tourists, the street lined with hotels and overnight rooms that milk their guests out of their money. But she never expected it to be like this! It looks more like a hotel suite than an apartment!

"Please, make yourself at home" he led her inside and Sakura's too stunned to do anything else.

"How much do you pay for rent every month?" she can't help but ask.

"Oh, I…" he drawled, leading her to the living area of plush couches and a 76 inch flat, touch screen TV. "I don't know honestly. I sort of… own it now'

"Own it?!"

Gaara shrugged, "I wanted a simpler, smaller one, but Sasori already signed my name to this place" he can't help but smirk at how she gaped at that realization.

"Wow… Sasori really goes out of his way huh?"

He nodded, "Can I get you anything? Water? Juice? How about a mug of hot chocolate maybe?"

Sakura smiled, "That'll be nice, thank you"

The redhead nodded before disappearing through the open arch that led to the open kitchen and dining area. Sakura though, took the opportunity to tour herself around his bachelor pad. Aside from the ridiculously big TV and lavish furniture, there isn't much but a couple of shelves filled with books, no decorations, no paintings or photos, nudda (There is a photo sitting on his couch side table. It was Gaara with two other people, his siblings). Well, there were a few bottles lined on one counter. Sakura guessed it to be those commissioned sand arts people requested him. She can't help but feel jealous though, but she's rather proud of how talented the redhead is. Med school was like another art school because of all the drawings and illustrations of the human body that they had to do. She can pretty much draw a decent body part (with the aid of a reference, of course) but she's nowhere near as talented as Sasori or Gaara (she saw him sketching the kitten on a sticky note outside the hospital while he was waiting for her and it looked so life like that she thought it'll jump out of the paper at any moment).

"You're very talented, Gaara" she praised and she almost giggled at the sound of what like a slip of a cup.

"Thank you, Sakura" He replied from the kitchen counter.

As she continued to survey the bottles, she looked over to see boxes filled with his other finished products- there was a rattle. And Sakura didn't miss the silent clanging of bottles. The pinkette moved over, seeing that the boxes weren't stacked right and was going to correct it but as she peeked through, she saw a pair of yellow eyes glowing at her.

"Sakura!"

Everything became a blur then, she didn't even remember when she screamed! When she came to, Gaara was supporting her back pressed to his chest with a small box on one hand.

"What happened?"

"The-there's something-"

She was cut short when the said creature poked its head out of the boxes. It was a raccoon.

Gaara clicked his tongue, "Not you again"

Sakura stood to her feet as she stared at the black-ringed creature with unusual yellow eyes dart from the stack of boxes and sniff towards her direction, completely ignoring the redhead.

"I'm very sorry Sakura" he says, stacking the boxes back in place. "I didn't know that thing will come today" he glared the raccoon.

"Oh, i-it's okay Gaara. I was just startled" when it was by her feet, Sakura crouched down and opened her palm to it. "What were you doing back there? You really surprised me" as if understanding her, it placed its black paws on her hand before sniffing her skin. Sakura giggled at the tickling contact before looking up at the redhead. "Is he yours?"

"No" Gaara grounded, "Shukaku's been coming here even before I moved in. He comes and goes as he pleases. It's really annoying because he always comes at the wrong time… like now"

The raccoon's ears twitched at him and bared its teeth in a snarl, Gaara though, glared back with his own glower directed at the trespasser.

Sakura giggled, not expecting this from the redhead. "You say that but you two seemed to get along really well. You even named him"

Gaara shrugged, "It's tiring to call him anything else" he watched as the raccoon climbed his way up her arm and rest over her shoulders. "Shukaku…" he warned but said animal just nuzzled its face to the pinkette's cheek, making her laugh. She never really had a pet on her own.

"You're a sweet thing, aren't you?" she cooed and Shukaku swished his tail in pleasure.

"I'm glad he's taken a liking to you" Gaara sighed, honestly. "He isn't really… fond of people. Don't worry though, he's clean and had his shots. I made sure of it since he's not going to leave me alone in this apartment anytime soon"

"So you're keeping Gaara company huh?" she says to the raccoon. "I suppose you deserve my thanks on that, Shukaku" Sakura pecked her lips on his snout and the animal responded by covering his face with his tiny paws as if it was shy.

Gaara just rolled his eyes.

 **~0~**

"I'm sorry about that… again"

Sakura smiled at him, cupping the warm mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table as they sat on his couch. Shukaku's in the kitchen eating a slice of watermelon.

"It's alright Gaara, I didn't mind. Shukaku's pretty cute" she giggled when he groaned into his drink. Sakura relished the feeling of the familiar hazelnut flavored chocolate down her throat. "Swiss Miss, my favorite"

"I bought a box when you told me it was your favorite. I kept it around in case I could finally invite you to my place"

"Really?" Sakura blinked and as if he just realized what he just said, he turned his head away after placing his own mug on the coffee table. The pinkette did the same, as she focused her attention to the redhead she had so much fun with. Ignoring how her heart pounded in her ribcage at the thought of where this could be leading. "Gaara?"

"Sakura" he finally turns his attention to her, grasping her hand at the same time. There was a small streak of red over his cheeks but the way his jade eyes stared at her own emerald ones were _hypnotizing_.

"Yes, Gaara?" she never knew her voice could sound like that.

Slowly, he scooted closer to her and she did the same. Until their entire side was pressing against each other. They could feel the subtle rub of their bare foot against the other's under the coffee table, the two cups of steaming hot chocolate long forgotten.

With his other hand, Gaara caressed his thumb over Sakura's right hip while he pressed her left to his until no space was left between. It felt like everything else in the room faded away as their bodies took over with untold attraction. They were never really honest with the obvious magnetic pull between them for the last few days.

"Sakura…" the way he said her name sent shiver up her spine and she held his thigh for support "I'm really happy to have met you…" Gaara laced their fingers together and instantly felt hotter at the warm contact between their palms.

"Me too, Gaara" she leaned closer to press her cheek to his and he responded with a nuzzle of his own. Sakura swore she heard him purr. "I never met anyone who can keep up with me"

There was a sharp intake of breath and they didn't know who did it as Gaara inhaled her sweet scent by her temple. "I never met anyone who was willing to be with me despite knowing all the things I have done… You're the only woman outside my family who wasn't afraid of me"

She had no words to respond to that. Nor did she feel the need to, she didn't want this sudden, yet heart-pounding moment to stop. Sakura never felt so vulnerable yet safe in anyone's arms before. Not even when she was still in a relationship with her ex. She can't quite put her finger on it but there's something about how Gaara touched her that made her feel excited… safe… lo-

"Sakura…" he drew her attention. "Can I kiss you?"

Sakura felt her cheeks flare at his sudden request but couldn't find the heart to look away.

"I am sorry but… I have never kissed before" a part of her found that very hard to believe. Surely he… at least once? "So-"

Gaara was interrupted with a slender finger pressed to his lips. "Gaara…" he felt loss in the depths of her emerald greens, and he didn't mind drowning in them. "You're so cute" she giggled.

The moment her finger slid off his lips, he immediately closed the gap between them. The first contact was chaste, unsure, but innocent. Just a press of closed lips. When she looked up at him as he pressed their foreheads together, he didn't appear shy, more like concerned if he did anything wrong.

"Was that… right?"

Sakura smiled, kissing his nose, "Yes…" she leaned towards him "it was…" they could literally feel each other's breath, "…right"

The second kiss lasted longer- and better. Sakura took the lead and took his upper lip while he took her lower lip. Hands were immediately wrapped around each other as if afraid to let go. She started sucking on his lip, and Gaara followed suit until he completely turned the tables and dominated their bout of dominance.

Gaara never lied, as far as she knew.

But who knew he was a naturally gifted kisser?

An uncontained moan escaped from her throat, making Gaara pull apart.

"Sakura?" he asked in silent question to which she just shook her head. Straddling his lap, she wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers laced with his flaming hair as she drove her lips back to his.

Gaara's hands pressed her hips tightly to his as Sakura willingly opened her mouth for him. it felt like it was part of his instinct to insert his tongue inside that hot cavern of hers, to explore every inch and gentle scrape of her teeth, and the soft dance of their tongues… and he did just that. He never felt so high, so warm, and so… right. He would admit to have fantasized on what those natural coral pink lips felt like but he never dreamed of finally tasting them so soon.

Sakura's entire existence completely dominated him.

He wanted to open up to her.

Stay by her side.

Hold her hand.

Hug her body.

Learn her secrets.

Let her learn his secrets.

Drive away his nightmares.

Chase away her demons.

Protect her.

Make her happy.

Make her the happiest woman alive.

Trust her.

Love her.

"G-Gaara…" Sakura gasped. The redhead had laid her down on the couch and her breathing hitched at the feel of his lips trailing a path of fire down her chin, her jaw line, and her neck.

Gaara pulled away and placed a gentle kiss on her nose as he stared at the breathless beauty under him. No matter how flustered or how hot she looked- felt, his desire to treasure the few bonds he has is much stronger.

"I will never do anything that you don't want me to, Sakura" her hands cupped his cheeks and he leaned to one of them, relishing her warmth.

"Thank you, Gaara" Sakura smiled.

"Also, I wish to… come to terms with myself first. I do not want to hurt you but it might take time for me to… share that part of me with you. I hope you will understand"

"Oh Gaara" she pressed their foreheads together, "Even if you don't tell me, it will not change how I feel for you. I promise I will always be here when you need me… but what does this mean now… about… us?"

He met her eyes dead on. "I wish to try this… us. If it's alright with you"

His only answer was a kiss of her affirmation and he smiled at her so fully and genuine for the first time. It was beautiful it's almost unfair but she felt really specially at that moment. He looked so happy it made her heart melt and it was enough for her to pull his head back to hers in an open-mouthed, passionate kiss.

"HEY GAARA! I'm here to get your deliveries-!"

It was too late to pull away when the door slammed open to reveal his eldest cousin and co-worker. The former remained passive except for the evident wide eyes while the latter stood solid with his jaw hanging so low it would have fallen from the joints. Unfortunately for the new lovers, they backrest of his couch was low so they had a good view of a very flushed and panting Sakura- too overwhelmed to even register the unwanted guests standing by her new boyfriend's doorway.

Gaara though, felt as if a bat of possessiveness hit him squarely on the face and openly scowled at the older males, his hold on Sakura's hips only tightened.

What felt like an eternity was broken by Sasori looking at his wristwatch.

"One hour" and just like that, he dragged his blonde friend-turned-to-stone outside before closing the door behind them.


End file.
